Brother Mine
by Blackstar1979
Summary: "Brother Mine" Mark is preparing to retire from wrestling so he can keep a promise he made to Nina his dead first wife in a drug-induced dream. The bonds that were forged and those that were almost broken play a part in book three. This is a partial summary see Chapter 1 for full.
1. Chapter 1

Brother Mine

Chapter 1 Manhunt

After meeting with Deon's little rebirth of the Vargo Recording company and securing a nice paycheck for Wolfe, Salvatore was very happy with himself. He'd helped that idiot Alex out of a jam and would now help direct the snatch. Deon surprisingly had the manpower, but the "new don" thought too small, his idea would have failed and blown back on everyone involved. He had no leverage for his damn plan. With Benjamin about to be six feet under now, the "new don" had no voice to the underworld of this area or any other area for that matter. Alex walks to his car and gets in the back seat. Meeting Alex's gaze in the rearview Salvatore snarls "If you don't get your ass in the front seat right now, I'll come back there and personally put you in the trunk, that is the only way I will ever look like your chauffeur." Alex complies and asks him to go over the plan again. "I don't repeat myself. You were there." Alex says he still didn't have the real hideout of Deon. "If this works, he'll invite you to his kitchen table. He's paying us a very handsome sum and supplying us with surprisingly skilled people. It has been nothing short of fun smuggling his men out of the state. It's been a long time since I helped orchestrate a freelance operation this large."

Alex wondered why Salvatore, Wolfe's number one soldier was suddenly so involved. "From what I heard, you didn't like this plan what changed?" Salvatore says not that it was any of his business, but he wanted to complete a few missions in one and this was the best plan of action to get it done. "We don't have den back up on this won't Wolfe skin us if he finds out?" Sal says then it would be a great plan to stick with his plan and not rat him out again because if he went down, he was taking them all down with him. "Fair enough."

That night after speaking with Jonathon at his home, Angel returns to Ivey Mansion. Joshua is called away to the club Larry the night manager called in saying he was under the weather. Joshua speaks as he puts on his owner's jersey style shirt. "In all the years I've known him, he's never used a sick day, but he sounded wrecked. JC is asleep in our room." Angel tells him to please be extra careful. Joshua walks over, kisses her she held on to him for seconds longer than usual, as she disengaged herself, he replies to her earlier words, "Will do." She drops her truck key fob into his hand, he heads out the front door. She stands at the door and watches as he drives her truck out of the gate with Andrew and the team behind him. For some unknown reason, she watched until the taillights of the last car following him disappeared into the darkness. She kept telling herself that he had Andrew and his team with him he would be fine.

Minutes after they arrived Andrew went to his usual seat near the bar, so he could watch Davenport and the crowd. The bar had another bartender, but she wasn't a manager or an owner. Davenport tells her to man the bar and he'd do the rest. Andrew sent his team to do an outside check. They got an oversized party of 25 at the last minute in the entertainment room. Davenport was everywhere. There wasn't a live show tonight, so it would just serve as more space for the spoiled 25 newly minted 21-year-olds. You could tell from them all ordering the best and newest liquor combos and flashing their IDs with pride. Andrew kept a steady track of Davenport's movement. Something seemed out of place in the back. Andrew waves at Davenport, when he catches his attention, he points towards the offices telling him, he was going to walk the management lounge area. Davenport nodded and signaled that he would stay in plain view of the other agent that had just come back in.

After arriving Joshua put in his earpiece and calls Angel as he moves around the club keeping after the hostess and the servers. "Yeah babe, what a night for Larry to get sick, I think he saw this coming. I got a large party of newly minted 21-year-old guys and girls. Shit, this takes me back and I hope we weren't this damn entitled, they've already asked to be moved twice. One claimed it was too hot, one claims it's too cold. It's Texas in June at night what the hell do they expect, wanting to sit out on the patio?" Angel says if he needed her she'd get Paula or Janet to watch JC and come help him however she could. Joshua didn't want Angel coming down here that would mean another team would have to be put together on the fly, and the leader of that team would be another unknown. With Bobby off recuperating, Harold back over near New York, and Andrew already here it was just too much that could go wrong. He still didn't know who was directly behind the hacker activity and didn't want to risk the computer attacks to become physical ones. Deon was still out there in hiding and wanting to do his wife and best friend harm. If not, Deon there was also Alex, though Joshua had stopped saying much about what worried him about Alex's words to him, he still thought it best to go with the idea of just because he was paranoid didn't mean there was nothing to fear. Andrew had let him know that Alex was out on bond because of a high dollar lawyer with "allegedly" corrupt connections with a few of the sitting judges of this area. Also, his wife was an owner true enough, but other than sometimes helping in the early evening with drink orders and serving Angel didn't work well in this type of crowd. "No, if it gets too out of control here, I'll call Vashon. He's closer and I really don't want you out alone." She asked about Candy. "With Candy living in Dallas now, it wouldn't be fair of me to ask her." Angel gets mad at him and says then it sounded like she was going to be calling their friend Candy because it was equally unfair for him to have to be the only one there that can do most of the shit that had to be done. Angel reminds him that he is not solo management anymore and if he didn't want her up there in the next 20 minutes he would call one of their partners to help him. "I got this, I've been doing this for a while babe, I know what I'm doing," Angel says even Michael had him and Vash to help on hard nights. Seeing that she was going to keep after him, or show up in under a half hour he figured he'd give in as to not start a fight he couldn't win. "You know what, you are very stubborn, but I'll call Vash right now ok." She says ok and tells him to be extra careful. That last sentence brought out why she was angry she was worried about him being out. "I will babe please don't worry yourself too bad about this. It isn't the best of timing but shit like this happens. I'm sure if Larry could be here, he would but right now he can't. Even ex-marines can't be healthy all the time. I'm just glad we hadn't started the tour yet or we would have to shut down tonight." Andrew caught his attention and he signaled that he would stay near the bar for a few minutes. Angel must have entered their bedroom because Jonathon-Chase was not only awake now but screaming his head off. Angel says she was going to have to put him on speaker phone JC was soaked and angry. That was Joshua's cue to lower the volume in his headset. "Done, go for it." As he hears the sound change of her putting him on speaker phone, he sang his son's song to him ending with. "He's my Johnny-Chase, my best friend." Joshua looked around and wondered where Andrew had gone to. He then sang the song again but this time he walked to the kitchen and pulled up the inventory since the head chef asked him for the key to the fridge/freezer to pull more food. He checks his key ring and found the food storage key missing. He holds up a hand as he walks back out toward the offices. Pulling his phone, he watched the screen.

The song though meant for their child, hearing the song her father used to sing to her minus using their son's name always filled Angel with a remembered warmth. Angel tells her mate just over a whisper. "Do it again, he's dry, fed, and smacking his lips now." Joshua sings the song that seemed to work like it had worked on her more than two decades ago. Halfway through the second verse, she turned the camera around and sent him a video message request to let Joshua see his work in action.

Angel wants to share a video Message Accept or Deny

Joshua hits accept and watches their baby stop smacking his lips, his fist unclenched, he shut his eyes with a contented smile, soon his face relaxed in sleep. She lays JC back in the portable crib. Joshua ends the song and the camera came to rest on his wife's face as she told him she would be up if he needed to chat but right now she needed a shower while JC was asleep. Joshua saw the tiredness in her gaze even though she tried to hide it. "I'll be fine go grab you a shower and I'll be home as soon as we close babe." She blows him a kiss, he mocks catches it and puts it on his mouth with a mirthful gaze at his camera. They close the call and though he'd sang and helped her calm JC he still wished that he was there instead of at work. It was funny how life played games with what you wanted. Two years ago, his depression was at an all-time high, his band was with a company that wasn't producing them well. His office was like a second home he stayed here so much avoiding going to his own home, where it was just him and the demons of his past to ride his couch in fitful sleep unless he took the medicine to knock him out. Without the med his mind would be on super alert all fucking night with it he'd been fighting off dreams and remembrances of his time there as a child. Then his luck started changing. Angel came back to him, which evened out his temper and raised his mood. Last year was rough at times but worth the ride. He texts Andrew.

Davenport J: Hey I'm heading to my office for the keys to the cooler and freezer to fill the chef's order.

Moments earlier Andrew walks back towards Larry's office the manager had called in sick that's why Davenport was here. The light was on under the door. He lifts his finger to his shirt-com to speak to his team. A voice behind him tells him not to move or his twin sister and her children would be in pieces all over Florida. Andrew froze. "You're making a big mistake buddy." Andrew tries to see if he can see the reflection of the speaker. "You won't get out of here." The mention of his sister alarmed him. The fact that this person knew he had a twin, disturbed him and that he knew where she lived scared the living fuck out of him. The guy says blah blah about hurting a federal family. His twin sister was pregnant with her fourth kid her husband got called away on a mission about two weeks ago. Her husband was a higher-ranking officer than Andrew, there was no telling where he was right now. All he knew was that his brother in law worked for a branch of homeland security. The guy puts a gun to Andrew's back.

"You try to warn your men or try any of the funny hand to hand crap and you won't be alive to mourn your sister," Stark demands proof of life. "Absolutely, I'm a lot of things but a liar isn't one of them." The man pulls a phone with his other hand and says "Show me the woman. She's very afraid not a good look for such an at-risk pregnant woman."

Andrew felt his blood run cold with trepidation. Whoever held him at gunpoint had his sister captive. It was recent as this morning because she is holding a newspaper with today's date on it. This was why he never married, this was why he was glad his family moved out of Texas so that stuff like this didn't happen, but someone had done their fucking homework, and found the only family he had left on this planet. He'd been so careful anytime he went to Florida to visit them. "Andrea!" His sister lifts her gaze to the camera, her mouth is covered with tape, and he sees that someone has a gun to her head but isn't in view of the camera. Tears well in her eyes and harsh breathing can be heard as she breathes through her nose. The person at his back says for her captures to show the Agent his nieces and nephew. Saying he wanted to show Andrew what all was at stake. The images change to a split screen. Someone had attached a bodycam to themselves, and he watched as someone points a gun at his sister's children as they slept in their parent's bed. Andrew was trained to notice details. The camera quality and the extra lengths these people were going through to scare him was not cheap and very effective. Just over a whisper, he says. "What do you want?" Andrea shakes her head no. Her hair is pulled until she is looking at the barrel of the gun. He hoped that she had not seen their faces because if so this would be a fatal flaw with her use of the false bravado warning him off by shaking her head.

"I want your cooperation is all. If I don't get it. Then this little family will be infamous I'm sure your brother in law will stop at nothing to track down who had a hand in the deaths of his family, imagine his reaction when he finds proof that you could have stopped it singlehandedly. Of course, that is if I let you live tonight."

Andrew couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a slight accent in the voice speaking at his back. Some words were dropped some had a lift that they did not deserve. Was he Irish? "I'll ask you again, what do you want?" He is told what is expected of him and then told that if he pulled it off his family would not be murdered tonight." They wanted Davenport. His fucking charge of five months officially. The male that he was supposed to be protecting via his shiny new title of close protection agent. What it boiled down to was that he was going to be giving up his job for his bloodline. A text message comes in from Joshua Davenport telling him his movements since Davenport would have noticed by now that he hadn't come back out into the club's public area to watch him. Andrew holds up the phone. "What do I say?" the man tells him how to respond. Andrew types.

Andrew: OK I'll meet you at the cooler.

As the gunman takes his phone out of Andrew's view and stops the image of his sister and her children. Andrew had to stop thinking about this from a personal standpoint. His sister was a hostage and so were her children. Andrew never felt so fucked over in his life. It was time possibly to end his professional life and his natural one when his field commander found out. An idea pops into his head there were cameras all over this place. Some of which he didn't even know where. Andrew is urged to walk towards the cooler. He noticed he was alone. No need to have him at gunpoint any longer if he didn't do this, his family's blood would be on his hands and if his brother in law didn't hunt him down the guys that were doing this he had no doubt would make good on putting a bullet through his head. Davenport walks around the corner and towards him. As Davenport talks about the large group and collects things on the list he was reading from on his phone. Andrew followed the plan. On what seemed to be the last trip Andrew hated himself for what he was about to do. As Davenport turns to exit the cooler Andrew before he can stop himself meets Davenport's gaze throws a package in the cooler and says "Sorry" as he slams the large metal door shut trapping Davenport in the cooler. He can hear Davenport for a time beating and then nothing. Andrew was following orders, holding the door closed so if Davenport tripped the safety airlock release, it would malfunction.

Andrew's phone rings. He answers and is met with the same voice. "Still trying to cover your ass I see. Nice touch apologizing to the man that probably thinks you've just killed him. The package we had you throw in will make this very easy for us. So, thank you." Stark asks did he just kill his charge. "Of course not, unless you want to, if not you may want to get him out of there. This is a timed affair. Your charge's business partner is here I do hope your acting improves for Davenport's sake. Oh, and if you try tipping off anyone you will watch my men kill your family. Time is not your friend." Andrew opens the door prepared to possibly fight off Davenport. It was the cooler, not the freezer. Upon opening the door there is a white smoke like substance that rolls out along the ground. Davenport was on his back. Andrew rushed in not even caring what the smoke was if they wanted him to get his charge out of here alive they wouldn't kill him in the process they wanted him to hang for his crime he was their scapegoat.

He knew he didn't have much time. The shit was making him dizzy which explained why Davenport was laid out on the ground in the minutes he'd held the fucking door closed. Andrew checks for a pulse feels one and quickly picks up Davenport and manages to carry him out of the cooler. One of his team members approaches him asking what was wrong with Mr. Davenport. "Help me get him in the office." Just as they get Davenport onto the couch in his office a knock is heard at the door. Andrew tells his team member to tell them that Davenport is busy and then get the team ready to head back to Ivey Mansion. The agent nodded and ran out of the office. Davenport was starting to come around. If this didn't work Andrew would be dead anyway. He had to try. "Nice to see you awake." Davenport tries to jump to his feet no doubt to take a swing at him, which was the least he would deserve but he guessed the smoke hadn't worn off enough because Davenport missed hitting him and face planted the floor. He hears Davenport talking to himself telling himself to get up. Andrew cuffed his charge and says. "No, you might want to stay down there."

Candy and Bradley walk to Joshua's door and is met by one of the teams that refuses to let them in. They walk away pissed that Joshua seemed to be playing games, Candy was called to come help with the party of new adults and the usual rush on a Friday. Bradley called his brother to find out why he was using the close protection team as his own personal gatekeepers. It goes to voicemail. "Look, bro, we came to help I know the shit about Alex has you freaked but this is insane. Call us back." Candy says almost too low to hear that she really hoped that wasn't the reason he wouldn't see them. "What does that mean?" Bradley asks as they enter the bar area.

Back in Joshua's office, he lays on the floor in fucking handcuffs trying to muster enough strength up to get off the ground. One while he was in the cooler thinking that his life was over, and the next Andrew is cuffing him in his office telling him to stay on the floor. "What did he pay you? Or did he even have to?" Andrew says nothing. "Why did you lock me in the fucking cooler?" Still nothing. Joshua manages to lift his gaze onto the man that was supposed to be protecting him. Andrew's phone rings he listens as Andrew says yes. "Yes, what?" Joshua had one more chance to get out of this. "The video is going to send your career down the toilet. I should have known. He did say someone close to me, nice play on words." Andrew crosses to behind his desk and thanks him or was he still speaking to the person on the phone. Was it Alex? Joshua at least didn't feel weighted or like he was going to pass out anymore. While keeping an eye on Andrew, he reaches into his back pocket, grabbed his phone, and tries to dial it without looking, it rings in his hand. Andrew ran over and snatched it. Bradley was calling him. Andrew took the phone apart.

Andrew moves back behind Joshua's desk and went to work viewing and erasing the video. The man that held him at gunpoint and spoke to him wasn't on the video from that timeframe. Andrew looked as he deleted any trace of his action. Seeing himself hold the door closed rocked him. He had to get Davenport into his vehicle and out of here before the team got wise to what was going on. Yes, he was their leader, but he couldn't have a federal team follow him into the unemployment line. The person speaking to him other than Davenport, tells him how to go about it. This night just kept getting better and better. Andrew thankfully hears the person hang up. "If you don't shut up this nut is going to kill us both." Davenport didn't believe him, and he didn't have time to try to convince him like the guy said this was a timed affair. By daybreak in Florida, his time would run out if he didn't get Joshua Davenport to the location. He was in this way over his head as it was he walks over and tries to haul Davenport to his feet. Davenport surprised him by kicking him in the back of his knee sending him to the ground. "We don't have time for this," Andrew says as he punches Davenport in the side of the head. Not even a year ago the idea of punching Joshua would have not filled him with as much regret as it did just now. Andrew could tell he'd rung Davenport's bell. "You need to stop fighting me I have to do this. This isn't personal." Another knock sounds Davenport goes to yell for help. Andrew pulled his taser and stunned Davenport. "I warned you to shut up." When the "supposed" agent walked in he asked was that him pointing at Davenport. "Well, he's the one in handcuffs." The prongs were still attached where he'd hit Davenport with the juice. The agent helps him get Devonport up. "My ride is back there."

Now in the back seat of Andrew's sedan, Joshua couldn't believe this shit was happening. How many people on that fucking STOP team was Alex paying? It had to be Alex because if it was someone that wanted him dead he'd be dead already. Andrew could have just left him in the cooler. He had no way of getting out, Andrew slammed the door in his face locking him in the cooler as the lights turned out, he'd panicked after not being able to get the safety airlock, unlocked. He'd felt lightheaded soon after. He'd smelled something but hadn't put two and two together. The package that Andrew tossed at him must have contained dry ice. He was just glad that the cooler was larger than most walk-ins and Andrew pulled him out or he would have died from the exposer. This was very confusing why did Andrew apologize? Though he thinks it's Alex he could never be too sure. He kind of hoped it was Alex because then the other agents that were working for Andrew would have no reason to go to his home. The STOP team wasn't allowed on the grounds of Ivey Mansion, but Andrew and the other lead close protection agents were. Alex had said that he could use him to get what he needed. Did Joshua want to do this no. He also didn't want Alex going after Angel for JC's stem cells. The other agent that was helping Andrew, Joshua had never seen before. He was sure of it. Bradley had called his phone before Andrew dismantled it. How long would it take his brother and his friend to realize he wasn't at the club anymore? Too many questions raced for purchase, he had to think. He was handcuffed in the back seat of a federal agent's car. Both were armed, and Andrew knew him, so the element of surprise wasn't there. He tried to remember which way they turned but knew his memory wasn't the greatest right now. He tries to sit up. Andrew looked back at him. Joshua was about to say something when suddenly nausea rose up in his throat and he puked. He laid his head back down with his eyes screwed shut tightly. Oh, that was bad for two reasons. One now his chest hurt and the other was he felt lightheaded again, soon after that thought, darkness once again claimed him.

The "supposed" agent spoke to Andrew when Davenport passed out. "Damn you guys don't fuck around with them toys, maybe I should get one." It was the second dumbest thing Andrew had heard the man say in the short time it took them to get out to his car and on the road. Andrew thinks to himself with irritation. Where did the caller get this cosplaying rent-a-fed motherfucker from a human bargain bin? That gave Andrew an idea. Though he wasn't in handcuffs passed out in the back seat of his own ride, he was still captive. Maybe he could use this guy's lack of smarts to his advantage. "You tell me where we are going and why and you can have mine." The guy looks over at him and asked him then what would he use. Correction Andrew thinks to himself, third stupidest question. "Well from the way your boss is tanking my career I won't have much need for one when this is done. So, what's your name maybe I can get hired in if I do a good job?"

The fake agent says, "The name's Niles." Andrew says well his name is Andrew. "Ha, I knew that and his name's Davenport. I'm just a driver and heavy hitter when I must be. Man, my boss couldn't set this up if he tried, he had lots of help. He just wanted to go in and fight the guy with us there as back up." Niles chuckles. "This way, no one knows he is missing until that club closes. As you can see we are far away from the last place he was supposed to be. You did take his phone, right? I know, a nice time for me to ask. We don't need his real federal pals busting up the party. There are lot of guys with a file that reads like yours in our family, you might not want to hear that, but I don't lie to people I respect, and I respect you. That don't mean that I won't shoot you if you cross me, but I do respect you."

Over at The Davenport Candy makes a large deposit into the safe in her office. She'd made sure to leave enough for the bartender to finalize the tabs for the night. Bradley walks over to her and says that he had not seen Joshua all night. "Me either. He's still here because he is still logged in and his truck is still here. I have no idea where the team went though. Even Andrew is gone." As Candy is locking the safe the chef barges into her office screaming in German about how he could not make any more food without the fucking food or the damn key to access the fucking food. "All you had to do was ask for the key." He says he asked Joshua 2 hours ago and Josh said he was going to go pull the stuff from the cooler for him. With a roll of her eyes, Candy takes her key for the cooler off her belt and throws it to the chef. The chef leaves the office grumbling. Candy was fed up and was going to give Joshua a piece of her mind. He always claimed that she could set him straight. This wasn't about personal shit this was business, so he had to listen. She takes a deep breath and pushes it out. "Ok, this is getting way out of hand. First, he calls me up here to help him, I come, and now he is blocking all communication with me and the staff?" Bradley asked her again what she meant earlier. Candy marches to Joshua's door prepared to yell over the agent if he sent the guy back to the door. She knocks on the door. "I've tried calling him it goes straight to voicemail. Joshua open this fucking door now!" Bradley says she didn't answer his question. Looking up at her mate some of the fire leaves her gaze. Candy quietly explains what Cass told her at the mall about Joshua's meeting with Alex and how Alex had laid down a minefield of mind fucks for Josh to wade through and how it may be why he was distancing himself from everyone. Bradley looked pissed but there was another emotion riding just under her level of detection in his whiskey-colored eyes. The agent didn't come to the door and neither did her friend.

Bradley says "When all this started about the video, and Alex and the meeting, he was worried about the people that care for him seeing him differently, now that fucker got my little brother believing that one of us is going to turn on him. Great, just fucking great. As if he didn't already have trust issues the size of the fucking Grand Canyon." Bradley turns towards the door. "I'm not going to stand idle and let this shit eat him alive. Since you're an owner doll face, you might want to close your eyes."

It had been a long time since Bradley had used that term referring to her, in that tone of voice. "Don't break the door or anything, I have a keycard." She swipes her master keycard across Joshua's lock and pushes the door open, Bradley walks in ahead of her no doubt about try to talk some sense into Joshua or clobber him. As she is about to cross the threshold Bradley turns around with a weird look on his face and says that Joshua isn't in here. She walks in and a sense of Deja vu hits her like a fist. This was just like the night Angel went into labor only that night she had thought Joshua had gone home to be with his wife for the new year. That night Deon had told her that her best friend hadn't gone home he'd been tied up in his fucking closet until Vash and Deon found him. Candy runs to the closet and pulls it open. Taking a breath, she says "he's not here." They both look around. Candy heads toward Joshua's desk to review the footage and that is when she saw it, blood was on the couch and on the floor. "What the fuck happened in here?" Bradley tells her to get out of here because he was calling the cops. "This doesn't make any sense he had an entire team of protection agents with him being led by the only one Joshua and Angel trusts," Bradley tells her to review the footage then, because something was wrong he could just feel it. "Ok." Candy walks behind Joshua's desk and stands at his computer she wasn't sitting in his seat. She hit rewind and notices an almost 35-minute lock of time missing. Not trying to panic she tries to pull up the system from her phone It worked for Vash it could work for her. It said it was offline during that timeframe. Counting back in her head that was just before they came. She calls Andrew he says he was out looking for Davenport. "What do you mean you're out looking for him? There is blood in his office and he's not here and your team isn't either. Did you guys get into it or something?" Andrew says he'd call her back. "No don't hang, please. Andrew, hello. Fuck!" She called back and it went straight to voicemail. "Andrew please just tell me what is going on call me back when you get this." Bradley looks lost as he, turns around in a complete circle, and walks briskly out of the office. "Bradley, where are you going?"

Bradley turns around so fast the lost look was replaced by one of fury as he says, "To find my brother." Candy says but they don't even know where to start. Anger lights his tone "Look, I can't just stand around and wait for his people to call back it's obvious they fucked up somewhere between 2 to 3 hours ago. I'm going to pick a fucking direction and cover as much area as I can. I at least gotta try damnit." He storms out of the rear exit pushing the backdoor open so hard it hits the back wall with a thunderous crack. Once out in the parking lot, he jumps in his car and speeds off. "Call Logan" Soon Logan answers. "Lo, I don't know where Joshua is, but I think something is wrong. There's blood in his office, he was at the club tonight when we got there, now his fucking close protection agent claims to be out looking for him and he's sending all our calls to voicemail. Candy asked had they got into a fight. I don't know what they would fight about."

"Maybe Andrew slipped up and told Joshua how he felt about Angel. That's the only thing I can think of. Where are you now? Bradley?" Bradley asked what he was talking about. Logan spoke of the memory of Megan talking about how an agent showed up trying to hit on Angel at Paula's bachelorette party after being one of the guys that shot Angel's ex-boyfriend Braden. He speaks of how Megan had been her nosey self and found out that the Agent's name was Andrew Stark. Candy was calling him. "Hey Candy, is calling I will call you back are you going to be up?" Logan says yeah, he is now. Bradley switches calls and is met with Candy saying that the chef said there was blood in the cooler and a misplaced busted box of dry ice. "Dry ice didn't belong in the cooler at all." Candy says she'd called the police the minute the chef left her office. Bradley asks Candy what she knew about agent Andrew Stark and was that why she asked had they fought.

Candy felt conflicted, she could say what was said to her by her friend or keep her mouth shut. One of their biggest issues was that Candy had spewed Angel's personal business to all in the limo. Would this be just like that? Angel had told her about the drive after her own party had tanked with the nasty video package. Her girl had talked about how Andrew claimed to have liked her since they were in high school. She remembers asking Angel how she felt about Andrew and being super relieved when Angel said that the feeling wasn't mutual. "I don't know if Angel would want me to speak to you about that. Who told you something about Andrew?" Bradley snaps never mind he'd call Angel his damn self and hangs up. "No damnit!" She tries to call Bradley back it just rang. This was not good, Bradley was amped, scared, and angry not a good mix if he was going to call Angel.

Up at Ivey Mansion, Angel sees Bradley's picture play across her phone she had been waiting to hear from Joshua and figured he got busy since they had lots of traffic in the club tonight. "Hey, what's up?" without even a hello Bradley asks her about her feelings about Andrew. What an odd way to ask that. Angel thinks as she says, "He's good at his job and I trust him." Bradley tells her not to play cute. "Excuse me, what is your problem?"

"My problem is, your own close-protection agent that has the fucking hots for you, was guarding your husband, and now claims he can't find him. So, are you cheating on my brother? If so, just tell your dial-a-fed to back off long enough, so I can get my brother back because unless Joshua busted your boyfriend open, my brother is somewhere bleeding."

Angel runs into the bathroom so she would not wake JC. "What's wrong with you? I don't know where you get off calling in the middle of the night accusing me of shit. You want to know about Andrew fine? Here is your big fucking secret of which Joshua knows by the way because I don't keep secrets from my husband." She tells him in detail about the 3 times Andrew tried to ask her out, and how on the last time he accused her of being elitist, and how she'd finally got it through his head that she didn't feel anything for him. She stops speaking trying to catch her breath. Before her tirade, Bradley had said that Joshua was missing an there was blood in his office. Angel numbly sits on the side of the tub and says with a crushing amount of sorrow in her voice. As tears well in her eyes "He can't be missing, not again." With a dread that sat on her chest like an elephant, she numbly disconnects the call with Bradley without even saying goodbye. After calling Joshua and getting a weird error message she runs from the bathroom and down the hall to Sophie's room. Calling her sister, as Sophie sleepily answers the phone Angel can hardly hold back tears as she says, "S…Sophie I'm s…sorry if I woke you can I please come in?" Rustling is heard, and seconds later Sophie appears at her door pulling it open. When Sophie hits end, and looks at her asking what was wrong, Angel's emotional grid collapsed in on itself as she burst into tears hugging her sister as she tells her about Bradley's call and the fact that Joshua is missing.

"I'm sorry I.." Out in his car, as Angel hung up on him, Bradley smacks himself in the head with his phone. "Stupid." He'd been getting along with everyone had even stopped earning her hesitate mistrustful gazes at him when he was around. Now he'd gone and accused her of not only cheating but told her all the shit that was bubbling up inside of him, yeah, she deserved to know what was happening, but the minute she started yelling at first, he'd been prepared to catch her in a lie. Some people you just knew when they were telling the truth. Angel wasn't a good liar at her best he left no room from start to finish for her to think on the fly. The more Angel spoke and at the rate, she said it dashed his belief that she was lying to him which meant that not only had he upset her with the news, but now he had changed the tide of their relationship forever by accusing her of cheating on his brother. He'd called the fed her boyfriend. He was way out of line. He wanted to call his sister back and apologize. But he knew that even if she answered nothing short of "I found him" would do. His phone rings he answers "Candy I was way off base, and now I've gone and told her in the worst way the shit I do know. I verbally had her for breakfast, she hung up on me and I don't blame her one fucking bit. She sounded how I feel by the end of the call. I'm such an idiot. I wanted to apologize the minute she stopped speaking but I've been on the receiving end of blame and I know she is not going to want to hear anything from me unless it is "Hey I found Josh." Candy went off on him but at least she was speaking to him.

"I tried to call you back before you went off half-cocked but no you kept ignoring my fucking call. Now I can't even call Angel because right now I'm sure anyone that is remotely close to you she's not going to want to hear from, thanks a lot, Brad. You have possibly put my head back on the chopping block and I didn't even say anything this time." He tries to blame her for not telling him what she knew. "Oh no, you don't fucking get to turn this shit around on me. Try it, and I'll feed you your asshole. I said I didn't think I should tell you because I was trying for once for this shit not to land on me you heard them both and said it yourself, the next time I opened my mouth and shared their fucking business I'm out of not only a fucking job, but my best friends including my boyfriend will have nothing to do with me anymore. Excuse me for not wanting to spew Angel's moment of confiding in me. I didn't know if she ever told Joshua or not. I asked her how she felt about the guy hitting on her and she told me that she had no interest in him. Which considering after Paula's party and her own Angel never seemed to want anyone but Joshua and he her. On some level, I too know how she feels because I have been blamed for similar shit that I didn't do, and it is just so much betrayal. When someone you care about accuses you in that way it just rips you a new one. Add in the part about her husband missing again, and I'm sure my girl is fit for the funny farm right about now."

A phone ringing in the dead of night was never a good thing in Chase's experience. It did not ease his mind at all that his youngest and newly pregnant daughter was calling him. "Hello, Sophie are you okay dear?" When she told him why she was calling the sound in her background he recognized it for what it was, his oldest was crying. "Keep an eye on her there, I'll put out some feelers and see what I can do to find him. I don't need her waltzing out into danger trying to save him again. If that is even what's going on. Has there been a ransom demand?" Sophie says no. The foul taste of betrayal leaden Chase's tone. "Tell me again how Stark is related to this fuckery?" As Sophie tells him about Joshua's brother's call Chase felt a barrage of many emotions one of the strongest was anger but fear was a strong second. Anger at Bradley Davenport for accusing his daughter of adulterous action than without any warning telling her something as scary as her husband is possibly hurt and missing. He was also angry at himself because he arranged to have Bobby hire Andrew on as close protection after the attack at the house the night Angel went into labor. If Andrew Stark was behind this or had any hand in it that hand would be severed. He feared for not only his son's situation, but also feared for his oldest daughter's mental state. Chase would not soon forget the look on Angel's face as she started walking towards Joshua's car the night he was abducted by April's men. When he'd pulled up Bobby leaped out of the car at a dead run to stop his sister. As he was about to reach for his old phone and call Joey, he thought better of it for now. Joey was discreet, but Chase is the mayor and he wanted to see what his fucking police force could do because if they did not find his son, or who took him, there would lots of new positions open from the Chief of Police on down the line to the newly hired rookies. He promised himself that he would call Joey in 12 hours. "Sophie, though there is still proof of the parts of the dirty cop clan still active, we can't just sit on this, someone has to call the police." As he closes his call he sighs and gets up out of bed.

Amy soon walks into his closet after him and watches her mate dress. "Chase, it is 5 in the morning where you are going?"

Chase pulls on one of the Nike windbreaker jackets over a t-shirt that reads "All men are created equal but the Best are born in December" The shirt was a gag gift from Joshua for his birthday last year. He looks at his mate and says "I'm going up to the house." Amy asks was Sophie ok. "Yes, it's Angel and Joshua I'm concerned about, Joshua has gone missing and may very well be hurt. Angel is understandably distraught. A part of the team that I helped compile to protect them may be involved." Amy asks was it wise for him to go traveling without knowing if other parts of the team are involved. "Wise no, something I must do, yes. If it gives you a level of comfort, I'll be driving the armored Aston Martin Vanquish. In the mood I'm in right now, if one of the agents step out of line, they will be under fucking my car."

Back inside of Andrew's car, he is now sitting in the back seat with Davenport. Andrew had thought the worst when Niles told him to pull over. He told Niles about the time limit. Niles said then he had better do what he was told. He'd got out of the driver's seat fearing that Niles was going to shoot him in the back or something. When Niles told him to get in the back seat with his charge Andrew didn't know if Davenport was going to try to attack him again, and he really didn't want to hit him with any more juice. The even more fucked up part was that now he was handcuffed alongside Davenport but at least Davenport could see where they were going if he was awake. Somehow Andrew knew he wasn't though. Davenport would have surely been ready to kick him or something with Andrew being in striking distance. Since Andrew was in cuffs as well he wouldn't be able to zap Davenport. Niles had put a pillowcase over Andrew's head for the remainder of the ride. The car comes to a stop and the pillowcase is pulled off his head. Looking around he knew where he was. Whoever lived here had more money than he would give Alex credit for having, that was bad because now he had not a clue who was behind this. All the clues lead straight to Alex. They were at a house off the southeastern shore of Cherry Lake. This place by road wouldn't be too far from Granville South's center. If at any time a chance presented itself, he was getting him and Davenport out of here. Niles tells them to hang tight and gets out of the car. That had to be a test because he'd noted the cameras on poles like at Ivey Mansion. "Davenport, did you see the roads that led to here I kind of know where we are I think…"

Andrew's voice, though in a low tone did nothing for the headache that was hammering just behind Joshua's closed eyes. He sounded drunk even to his own ears as he said. "We're at what used to be Rose Manner. I don't know why you're doing this but please don't hurt my family." Before Andrew can say anything, Niles comes back to the car has Andrew get out and uncuffs him. Joshua looks out at Andrew just in time to see Niles hand him an envelope.

Outside the car. Niles hands Andrew his cut of the job well done. Andrew looks confused. "That is half, the other half and the release of your family is on its way downstairs. Help me get Davenport into the house and set up then you can leave. Oh, and don't think about busting up our party we have proven that we can get to your family." Andrew says no one from his former life would believe him anyway. He was now most likely labeled rouge which can be deadly in his former line of work. "That is true, I like your honesty, if you were really looking to get into the family we do provide protection of our own." Andrew thanks him. "Shall we." They open the rear door and Niles says "Welcome home Davenport."

Andrew had been about to try to tell Davenport why he was doing this and that he wasn't going after his family, but Niles had come back too soon. This was a huge amount of layered fucked-up-ness as Joshua would say. With all he'd done in the short hours, he knew that he'd never be able to explain what was really going on. Other things Davenport had said to him proved they had thought the same thing, that this was Alex's work. Niles speaks to Davenport about how if he as much as breathed wrong he would have his new friend Andrew turn up the juice. Thankfully, Davenport said nothing and walked with them up the long walkway. Once they are in the house under bright florescent light, Andrew saw that Davenport must have cut himself because the back of his shirt was bloody, but it seemed to have dried which meant at the very least he wasn't still bleeding. They take him to a nearly empty room that only housed a chair and metal table. Niles tells Andrew how to lock Davenport down. Andrew wanted to tell Niles that this seemed to be a replica of one of the federal interrogation rooms at the compound complete with a 20-foot-long mirror that Andrew was sure someone either was already watching or would be soon, but kept his comment to himself. Niles asked Davenport to sit in the chair as he has Andrew run a cable with a lock through the middle link of Davenport's cuffs, further securing his hands to the bar that was screwed into the table top. Andrew hoped Davenport didn't try anything. Once again, his charge took no action that would cause him to get zapped. Niles hands him an envelope and tells him to go wait for his boss in the hall. Andrew detached the cable from his taser, looked at Davenport in the mirror, Davenport breaks eye contact and looked down at the table he was cabled to. Andrew walks out of the room and comes face to face with Deon. Well, that explained the room double, Andrew had sent Deon to a room just like the one on the other side of this door when he'd attacked Angel in her office. Deon smirks at him. It took every bit of Andrew's training not to complete the action he wanted to, which was, knock Deon out and hope it was a one-punch wonder. Instead, he drew more on his undercover training from when he was with the state police and smirked too, relaxing his stance. Deon hands him a tablet and lets him watch his sister get untied and on the other side of the screen, he watches the person wearing the body-cam walk away from his nieces and nephew and out of his sister's bedroom. Andrew was never so glad to see images of the hallway as the gunmen walked out of the house. He didn't have to fake relief as he handed the tablet back.

Bobby is brought out of sleep by his work phone ringing. He grabs it and answers "Hawk" the agent that was guarding his father speaks quickly about how Chase Ivey sped off without him and didn't even send him a message for where he was heading. "David I'll call and see what's going on. Do any of your guys at least have eyes on him?" The agent that was supposed to be covering his post at Chase's side while he was recovering says yes sir and then lets him know that Chase had just driven up the back way to Ivey Mansion. "What is he driving, that you missed him leaving the house?" The agent says the Vanquish. Bobby closes the call. That was strange for Chase to ditch his close protection agent and drive away in a fully armored car. Even when Chase was hiding his plans from Bobby when he would go see Amy he still had other parts of the team covering him. He calls his father. "Dad, what the hell are you doing?" Before Bobby can finish his safety, tirade Chase speaks, and Bobby can hear the personality shift in his father. By the end of the information overload, Bobby sits up wincing and gets out of bed. "Why would you keep me in the dark about this Chase? I'm injured not dead." Joy was calling him. "That's Joy, she was on tonight maybe she will have something. I'll talk to you soon and dad no more phantom driving, just like you I don't know how many are involved."

Joy walks out of The Davenport on her personal phone and speaks to her mate. "Bobby there is a lot going on over at Joshua and Angel's club." He lets her know that he spoke to Chase. "Well from what I can gather this thing was very well done. Joshua is missing, possibly injured, and no one really has an accurate account of when he left. There were multiple time loops set up and some video just out and out deleted. I can retrieve the deleted video since a call was made to the local authorities. As for the assumption that Agent Stark is involved, it's just been confirmed. Candy says when she called, Andrew was very indirect in his wording and then hung up on her. What started this according to Vashon Williams who I almost clobbered for walking into my crime scene is that Joshua called him hours ago asking him for help with the club. Vash says he wasn't at home. I'll check to see if his alibi stands. No, you heard right, I'm not helping on this case, it's my case." Bobby asked how did the Captain of the Cyber Metro Division land a case like this. "Look, I have a suspicion, but all I can say is that it came down the line to me. The chief asked would I be too close to this to treat it as I would any other case, I told him no and assured him that I can remain detached." Turning away from her men she says "Robert, I need you as consult on this, and to help me keep my word to my superiors."

Hearing the strain in her voice Bobby says "I'm sure Commander Sean will ok it as long as I'm not actively in the field. What do you need me to do first, Captain?" Joy tells him to find out if any of the other agents that were a part of Stark's selected team that followed Mr. Davenport to his place of employment signed off even a minute before or after they were supposed to be offline. "Will do." As they close out their call Bobby walks into his war room and sits at his computer. Joy was leading a missing person's case relating to Joshua which she held as a brother even though they weren't even married yet. Though she said all the right things to let her team know she was detached and in charge, he'd heard that faint undercurrent in her tone. If you didn't live with her and know her you wouldn't be able to hear it, but he had. Getting approval from Harold was harder than he would have thought, and It wasn't until he agreed to keep most of his work under the radar and keep his injured ass off the street. He was about to mention that Harold had worked Injured, but he knew he would lose that pissing contest so he yes sir-ed his way into an approval. After getting off the phone he boots the system by voice command. "Field Commandeer Hawk-Ivey online."

Back up at Ivey Mansion, Paula comes down into the kitchen and is met with more people than she would have guessed would be here at 10 in the morning. Looking around the expansive space she noted that though everyone was in the room, they were not all on the same page sort to speak. At the breakfast nook over in the corner, Sophie was holding JC feeding him a bottle and talking quietly with Luke who was on his tablet. It looked as if Luke had just got here. Over at the larger table that sat in the middle of the room Chase was talking on the phone and typing on his laptop. Paula moves across the kitchen to Angel who sat at the other end of the table speaking to Joy who was all done up in her police coat which she usually took off the moment she came in the door. She also had a laptop out on the table. Jonathon arrives at the back door; his name is read through the system and Angel ran to him hugging him around his waist. Jonathon's eyes were a hunter green which meant he was pissed about something as he held on to his daughter speaking too low for Paula to hear. Joy turns around and stands from where she'd been sitting and noticed her watching Angel and her father. "Morning Joy you mind on telling me why this room looks more like a command center than a kitchen this morning?"

Joy closed her laptop asked Paula out on to the back porch. Joy liked Paula but wasn't up for speaking about what all she'd gathered again. It was bad enough that she'd spent 20 minutes waiting for Angel to calm down enough to speak to her at points during her interview. Angel was the last person besides club staff other than Andrew to see and speak to Joshua that was hours ago. Her interview with Candy didn't match the timeframe of when Joshua went missing. Bradley wasn't at the club when she got there per Candy calling the police, and after Angel's retelling of what Bradley said, Joy was going to have a hard-enough time trying not to punch Joshua's brother in the face if he went down that verbal path with her. As Paula closed the sliding door Joy says. "Since we don't know a lot right now this is base. Joshua went missing sometime between the hours of 1 and the close of the club which was at 3am, Angel last spoke to him about 11:45 last night. Bradley called Angel, her phone records say at 3:15am but he didn't just call to let her know that her husband was missing. He accused her of cheating on her husband and asked her to tell our number one suspect Andrew, to let him have his brother back. So, I have to ask, were you here all night or did you work the Last Ride?" Paula looks offended and asks why she was being questioned. "Paula, I like you, but I am trying to get a full picture of what went on last night. I was thinking that if you had been at your club that maybe some of the agents that were supposed to sign off would have stopped in for a drink. The Last Ride has Ivey Supervisor as it's security and surveillance package correct?"

Paula says "Joy, as for the Ivey package yes, because you were there when Bobby installed the upgrade. As for was I at work, no. Katie is teething and very irritable and I didn't want to leave Jan here to watch an irritable infant until 4 o'clock in the morning. Tracy worked last night. I'll call Supervisor and have them send you the video. If you want, I'll call Tracy and you can ask her about any of them that she may have recognized. I don't know what else I can do, but anything that is in my power to do just let me know because I want my cousin returned safely just as much as everyone in there." Joy says she doesn't doubt that for a second, she just needs to be thorough. "So, you are here on duty?" Joy runs her hands through her hair and looks down at her nametag on the breast pocket of her jacket. "No offense, but you're not in the field a lot, why would they send a tech with police power to find a missing person? Joshua is a person not a stream of data." Joy met her eyes, wiggles her fingers in the air and tells Paula don't forget who helped find her. Before the shock could wear off Joy turned and walked back in the house. As Paula walked back into the kitchen Joy was packing up her laptop and leaving. "Joy I didn't… Damnit. Point taken I'm sorry." Joy nods and briskly walks out the front door.

After handing JC to Luke, Sophie walks over and quietly asked Paula "What did you say to her?" Paula repeats what she said. Then follows it up with she said no offense. "Paula the no offense clause isn't a catch-all. Joy was very instrumental in helping Bobby and Harold at times and has more than proven that she can do the same as lead. Maybe when we all joke around with her you took our little jabs as truth. She is way more than our nickname for her of Captain Code Cracker. We mess around with her while not in a crisis to make her feel included. Hell, she calls me HBIC. Please let that be the last time you offend the only person we can trust in the police force that gives a damn whether we get Joshua back unharmed." Paula says she guess she was kind of irritated that Joy interviewed her. "She interviewed us all but if it helps her paint a picture or draw a line to where Joshua is, she can ask me anything she wants."

By noon, Angel told Sally and Michael about Joshua missing as she sat near Jonathon. Sally went off on her and asked missing for how long? Angel told the truth that she really didn't know when it started but she knew it was at the very least confirmed by the time Bradley called her that morning. When Sally screamed that she couldn't believe that Angel had managed to lose her son again, that's when Angel ran from the room crying and Jonathon spoke up. "Now that's enough of that. She called you here and told you what is going on, and you're the second person to fucking yell at her in mere hours. It's not her fault, and I won't allow you to take her back down memory lane of sorts, because news flash that wasn't her fault either. You can stay or go, but if you stay you will be respectful. There will be no win for you here if you're not." Michael asked what happened. "All we have is assumptions the main one being that for some reason Andrew took him." Sally wipes her eyes and says she's afraid. "We all are, we all want him home safely, but turning on each other isn't going to help."

Sally says he had every right to feel the way he did after her atrocious behavior in the past. He says that she seemed to do this a lot and the past wasn't so distant. "I'll not let this lapse in wording throw away all the progress we have made." She turns to look at her husband. "Michael will you come with me, she may at the very least open the door for you," Michael says that maybe it would be a better choice for her to not go up there right now. Looking back at Jonathon she says to them both. "If I let her stew about it she'll." Michael cuts her off before Jonathon can speak. He calls her by her name and says that no quick apology is going to erase or even dull the emotional hurt flowing through their daughter right now and may even make things worse. He mentions that he was sure it took a lot for Angel to even invite them over here and tell them face to face as she did, Jonathon agrees.

Over at Deon's hideout, Andrew and he walks into the room with Joshua. The look of shock that his former employer wore was priceless. Then the look went away just as fast and is replaced with one of anger. "Oh, so now you're mad?" Joshua pulls at the cable that linked his cuffed hands to the bar. "You have been trying that move since Andrew walked out of here." Deon points to the mirror. How do you like your new home?" Joshua tells Deon a creative way for him to be intimate with himself. "Oh, you romantic you. I don't think that is humanly possible. Where are my manners? Would you care for something to drink?" Deon walks closer to the table.

Joshua tries to stand not wanting Deon standing over him. Deon hauls off and hits him in the side of the head. Joshua tries to kick out at Deon. Deon steps out of his strike zone. Joshua couldn't budge the table, when he'd been in the room alone, he looked at the cable that locked his cuffs to the bar and then tried to move the table that's when he noticed it was bolted to the floor. "Deon is all this really necessary?" Joshua tugs on the cuffs "It looks like you are making way more money than you were with us." Deon tells Andrew to secure Joshua's feet to the table as well. Andrew approaches him Joshua meets his gaze. "Don't do this. Andrew whatever he paid you." Andrew holds up his taser and tells him if he got kicked, he'd send Joshua on the electric highway again. "You protected my wife from the very person that you are working for now. Was this decision only about the money, or did I do something to unknowingly push you over? You've done so much to help us, and keep us safe, and now you just work for anyone willing to throw you cash?"

Andrew had a plan, but he had to speak to his sister before he went with it. Right now, he had to play the new mobster on the block until he could get some alone time with his phone. Andrew didn't think he could hate himself more than he already did but nope he was finding all kinds of places to store his self-loathing. At the look of confused guilt, he read on Davenport's face he says, "Yeah, it's about more than money." Deon clears his throat. The words popped out of Andrew's mouth as if on their own. "You were never supposed to marry her. I could have kept her a lot safer without you." He couldn't take it back and would have to wonder about why he'd chose that as his shock and awe statement. It worked, Davenport stared at him in shocked disbelief. Andrew wasted no time securing Davenport's foot to the table as he reached for the other foot he got said foot to the nose. Davenport stunned the shit out of him, as he rolled away holding his nose, Deon yelled for him to zap Davenport. Instead of following that order which could kill Davenport, since he was cabled to a metal table, he did the next best thing, getting up he tells Deon that would kill him and explains why. Andrew then punched Joshua in the chest, He pulled the punch, so Deon would get more sound than the visual force behind it. Andrew was sure it didn't feel pleasant, but he had a job to do and made quick work of securing Davenport's other foot to the table. Deon told Andrew he was dismissed for the night and could use some of his new money to rent him a hotel room for the night he suggested that Andrew does not use his own name since the Ivey, McBride, Davenport, and Sheldon families were bound to be looking for him by now. Andrew knew of another Ivey even injured if Bobby found him Andrew would no longer exist. To keep up his part in this charade Andrew thanks, Deon.

He heads out into the hall and Niles is standing there with a pillowcase. "Well, the boss says it's time for you to go for now. He may need you to oversee the other part of this plan, but the guy won't get here until tomorrow. I know you may want to trash your phone but don't, prepaids and their purchases get pinged and always end up being something that helps a case, some clerk recognizes you, and you're toast. They head out to Andrew's car and he puts on the pillowcase. Niles drives him back to a major street a few blocks away from the hideout. Andrew takes off the pillowcase and asks how he was getting back. Niles says "I have a car waiting for me to take me back, don't try to tail us you will get caught. I was impressed that I didn't have to cuff you to make you wear the sack over your head." Andrew gets in the driver's seat of his ride and drives off towards Grandville North. "Smart move agent, smart move indeed you may even survive." Niles was happy to know that the agent wasn't going to be stupid enough to try to go back to South and cause them trouble. Maybe what he said about being labeled rouge was true.

Over in a hotel 4 blocks from where he parked his car in an all-night garage, Andrew heads into his little dingy room at a low rate motel. Using a fake ID that was provided by Niles was just another piece of the huge shitty puzzle he was a part of. He had 3 grand in an envelope, couldn't access his bank accounts couldn't use his real name at all, or Bobby would hunt his ass down. If Bobby found him before he could make Davenport appear, he'd lose more than a job. Looking at his phone he took it apart to make sure he'd shut down his tracker. Putting the phone back together, he powers it up and deleted multiple pages of messages that came in from Candy, Bradley, and even Angel asking what he wanted. He wanted his damn life back. He wanted to make sure his sister and her offspring were safe. He called her. She sounded like she was in an empty space. He got his first break when she informed him in code where she had taken her and the kids. It wasn't far from the house she lived in, but he'd thought her husband was paranoid when he'd spoke about the "panic house" that used the crawl space under their bottom floor bathroom as a path to an underground fully supplied bomb shelter type house. "This call isn't going there is it?" She says her brother and husband taught her better than that. He could hear the smile in her voice. She was using a form of call forwarding. She and kids were safe were the mantra that sung through his head. He asked her did she think the guys that came into her house bugged her, the kids or their toys. She says she used his Christmas gift and stayed away from wherever it turned red. "Look, I'll call in about three days if I can, if not get in touch with your husband. She wished him good luck, "I'm gonna need a lot of that. Talk to you soon sis."

That night over in Grandville South, Joy walks into her home and slams the door behind her. Bobby walks out into the hall. He says he found that all the agents did sign off on time and most of them weren't back on rotation until Monday. He then asks was she ok. "No, our brother is missing and has been missing for almost 24 hours. I found out that Larry the night manger wasn't just under the weather his wife rushed him to the medical center last night. He wasn't sick, he'd been poisoned. He called Joshua from the club the phone records proved it. He was in his office on his lunch break and about to sign back in when he said he felt funny called off and managed to drive home where he told his wife that the tuna salad she prepared for him must have been old or something, he then fell to the floor claiming he couldn't breathe. I sent someone to his office and they found the tuna. Luke's staff tested it and was able to get the antidote into him before The Davenport lost a Manager. If that is not bad enough I let Paula rattle me enough to storm out of the house. She wanted to know why someone like me, was leading a case like this since Joshua is a person not a stream of data. I do more than crack codes. I've done my share of field work as a detective. Hell, just last year I walked up to the house that I found in a fat suit to gain a look inside the fucking house that could have held her." Bobby hugs her and tells her that just because people didn't understand what she did, didn't take away from what she could do.

"Believe me, babe, I as you know, I've lead lots of ops and when I first met her Sophie called me some of everything from spook, to brother spook, to a few that I won't say but, those were when she was angry at me. That didn't stop her from calling me when it mattered. They have an idea of what I do, hell dad thinks I work solely with the FBI but it's not like I can even tell them. I don't try to correct them I just do the job. Which brings me to what else I found for your collection. I was able to ping Andrew's car. The problem is it was last pinged outside of your jurisdiction. It was pinged closer to Pyramid on the most northern corner of G North." Joy starts to pull away from him. "What are you doing?" Joy says she's going to get the address and go see if she can make friends with a few beat cops over in North. Bobby held her in place "Grandville North is not the place to be using a GPS and looking like a lost tourist at night."

She looked up at him, seeing the wince he was trying to hide while holding her in place, she stopped trying to pull away she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to fight with him. "Okay, what if I find someone that does know the area? I'm not going to let that asshole just keep Joshua. If he is in G North that means he didn't go far from the club since it sits on the boundary of South and North." Bobby says she wouldn't be able to approach Andrew while he's in North. "Don't talk to me about jurisdiction you handled business while on suspension in another country for Christ sake. I don't think he knows just how fucked he is. I can use that to my advantage. You wouldn't do anything less if it was your case, give me the address Bobby."

Though Joy knew that Robert was not pleased with her doing this, Joy, Cass, and Rapture drove to where Andrew's car was parked. Feeling as if she'd failed, she says looking at the parking garage. "He could be anywhere. Hell, he could have done what Bobby said he'd do and ditched the car here. I feel like an idiot for having you bring me out here Mr. Sloan." Rapture says it was worth a shot and Bobby had a point about him knowing the area. He then says with a grin he'd forgive her if she stopped calling him Mr. Sloan. "I'm sorry I wasted your time Rapture and yours too Cassandra."

Rapture looked in the rearview mirror and met Joy's gaze when he turns on the dome light he says. "Wasted our time. I don't think that's what I'd call it. I believe we helped, no it didn't pay off but for a moment, it gave Cass and me something to do besides wait around and feel helpless. We can check the hotels on this block. Though If I were trying to hide, someone, I wouldn't be checking into any hotel that I had to use a credit card. So that leaves out that nice new Hampton and the Hilton. I doubt he would be stupid enough to check into Ivey Suites North. Cass says depending on how much physical cash he had on him and how comfortable he wanted to be he would probably go to an Extended Stay hotel. Rapture pulls out of the garage and was kind of pissed that it charged him 5 bucks. "We weren't in there but a hot second. If he didn't ditch the ride, he's going to need a lot more than a five-dollar bill."

As they are stopped at a stop light someone tries to open Joy's door. Joy pulls her gun. The guy lets go and darts off into the night. "Let's get out of here I'm breaking enough policy without adding endangering civilians to the list."

Inside the house, Deon had been having lots of fun hitting and smacking the shit out of Joshua. Knowing that Joshua if not cabled and cuffed to the table would have handed him his teeth by now but that just proved how powerful Deon is now. He'd even put his former bandleader in a chokehold and slapped him back awake. It was time for story time and you couldn't have story time without drugs. Niles always brought him the best of their shit. As he sits across from Joshua who is beaten and bruised and seems to be having a hard time keeping his head up. Deon figured he may have slammed Joshua's face into the table too hard the last time. Deon expertly sets up his little fun shop while talking. "This was fun, can't wait to trade you for Candy and see how fast Angel gives her up to get you back. I can't get within yards of either of them thanks to you. So, I'll have to take them both." Joshua says nothing. "No, come back? Where is all the heat and fire from before?" Lighting his drugs and taking a huge inhale he holds it and feels the warmth coursing through his body then lets it out right into Joshua's face, making him cough. "Don't worry Joshua I'm not completely heartless when this is done if you survive, you'll still have your son. I do have a surprise for you. I'm going to get you cleaned up. Niles, bring in the next hit star of our recording company." Niles soon opens the door and in walks none other than Vivian Arrow.

Joshua looked up at the person coming in the door his tracking was off but just the outline of Vivian was enough to tell him who the blurry figure was, standing in the room. "Should have run your ass over when I had the chance." She walks over and as she gets closer, she says in his ear that she was sorry. She then lightly slapped his face where it had kissed the table. He knew he was either going to throw up or pass out again. It was hard enough staying awake through Deon's running dialog. It was all shit he'd heard before how everything was his fault, the new shit made Joshua want out of these cuffs just long enough the beat the fuck out of Deon. Not only had he attacked Bradley on Candy's porch, but he'd been the one suggesting that Bradley be captured and killed. If it wasn't for Chase sending out help, he could have lost his brother even before getting that call from the system asking him to go to the hospital. Deon had also confirmed that his login at LEGNA was still active. So that explained how the letter circulated to Trevor. Joshua asked why Deon sent his mother instructions that would have probably lead to them being brought here with his son. Deon had hit him but hadn't answered the question. When Deon explained how he had a friend hack the baby monitor since he knew the make and model and how his team had given him the power of excellent hearing of what was going on in Joshua's bedroom and in their son's room. Joshua yelling at Deon calling him a perverted creepy asshole was what got his face smashed into the table. He had no clue how he looked but he would bet money that he would not be stage ready in two weeks if he could leave here alive.

Vivian had no clue that Joshua would look so wrecked. When she was in the band they were close-knit and watched her get her ass handed to her. But she had figured he was like most other bandleaders, Joshua Davenport was talented and darkly sexy, but he wasn't like most people in rock bands. He didn't keep a side chick, most of his fans he joked around but never invited them backstage even before he tied the knot. What happened that their bass player was beating the shit of the bandleader? Deon was now married, and it wasn't to the skinny blond keyboardist that helped the doctor's wife beat her ass. Deon offered her some alone time with her crush. Turning back to the man that was going to make her musical dreams come true, she asked for that alone time. Deon says sure, and gets up staggers to the door, and tells her that there is some medicine on the table for her if she wanted it, he also says that he had guests to entertain. After he leaves the room she looks back at Joshua. "I deserve that comment about being run over, and a lot more. But Joshua I'm not here to hurt you." Vivian runs away from him when he starts dry heaving. "You want something to calm you down?" He shakes his head, the fear in his usually so arrogant gaze struck her hard. He shut his eyes, sighed then winced. "We are being watched if I gave you any of his drugs, he'd probably kill my ass anyway. He's going to give me my own band." Joshua said good for her and then asked in a monotone what she planned to do to him. "Like I said I'm not here to hurt you, Josh." He opened his eyes though one was puffier than the other. She leans close to his face and whispers. "I'll tell your wife where you are on one condition." She put her hand on his cheek. He asked and that was. "Well after I get you cleaned up I'll tell you." She gets up leaves the room and returns with water in a sand pail and grabbed the cloth that Deon had left for her and cleans off his face every touch made him either grit his teeth or take a sharp intake of breath. She put adhesive medical strips in different sizes on his cuts. She unbuttons his shirt even though he couldn't go anywhere he tried to weakly pull away. "Hey, I'm just going to look at your back ok." He had a huge bruise on his back and though it had stopped bleeding it really didn't look good. He asked what she wanted in return for her telling his wife where he was. "Oh that, just a kiss." He froze. She leans in and watched his internal struggle play over his face.

If Vivian could get his location to Angel. Angel could get him help. He hoped this was the right thing to do but it was the only option he had right now. Andrew said it was about more than money but his words after that floored him. He'd thought that Angel had set Andrew straight the night of her party he guessed Andrew had just been waiting for the right time. But what confused Joshua the most was the right time for what? Besides money, what did Andrew think he would gain from something like this? Nothing made much sense. He was afraid to drink or eat anything here and when Deon returned, he was sure the drugs that he'd been doing before he left would make him feel like beating on him again. When Deon had choked him out the more freighting thing was that Deon had nearly killed Candy that way, and he'd just knew with Deon's hate of him before he was smacked awake that Deon had killed him. Looking back up and meeting Vivian's eyes Joshua leans forward, closed his eyes, and kissed her. She put her hands on each side of his face and tried to lengthen the kiss. When he closed his mouth, she stopped. As she watched his eyes looking for, he didn't know what. He quietly says. "Please tell Angel where I am, I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Upon exiting the room Deon glances at the screen and turned up his nose. Why she liked him Deon would never figure out. He beat the living shit out of the man and Vivian still wanted to clean him up. Deon swayed as he walked away without even listening to their little exchange. He had new friends to chat with. He would call his newest employee but something about Andrew didn't come off as trustworthy, the guy tried too hard. Though the look on Joshua's face when he'd said that Joshua wasn't supposed to marry Angel was worth what he'd paid him for getting Josh here. Deon wondered was the agent still hopeful enough to try to double cross him or was his rouge story that he shared with Niles truth?

**Author's Note:** since I could not fit the entire description in the little field here it is. **Book** three. This story will center on mostly male superstars and Male OCs of the story hence the title "Brother Mine" Mark is preparing to retire from wrestling so he can keep a promise he made to Nina his dead first wife in a drug induced dream, and begins a search for a person of his choosing to take the belt and get the biggest push of their career. Events relating to past and present push the males of the series into the into sink or swim situations. The bonds that were forged and those that were almost broken play a part in this **book**. Please feel free to comment I love my readers you all add so much joy and by questioning me on something give me a chance to make or break a great scene. :**End Note**


	2. Chapter 2 Immaculate Deception

Yes, I know I missed doing this in chapter one, but I wanted to get the story up and forgot and didn't want to take it down and change it. So here is the _**disclaimer:**_ WWE superstars belong to the company not me. Also, any mention of musical professionals, whether it is a single entertainer, or a band are the sole property of their company or entertainer classification. I'm just letting them play in my mental sand box I promise that I will return them when I'm finished... The other names are mine- all mine /\\_/\

**Chapter 2**

**Immaculate Deception**

The next morning in a hotel gym Mark lifts weights; he had a meeting with creative this was going to be his last year in the company as a wrestler. He had given it much thought. John Cena and Randy Orton were both serving time for a lot of crimes including extortion, John Cena had a drug trafficking charge. Nikki Bella's trial was coming up next. Though she hadn't used the mushrooms that John and Randy had used, on him she had drugged his Travel Liaison with a knock out drug in her liquor. Mark finishes his work out.

At the meeting, many of the guys he suggested or even thought of Vince didn't like for this reason or that one. Vince then suggested another round with Shawn Michaels then quickly apologized at the look Mark through him. When the rest of the creative team cleared the room at Vince's request Mark says "Shawn's lucky to be alive, after what he, Rachal, and Alberto did to my child." Vince asks how Janet was. Mark said nothing. Vince suggested his son Shane. "You don't even talk to your boy and you want to throw him in the ring with me? There is only so many times I can make his windmill style of punching look authentic. I tell you what, why don't I do an open challenge? I am the champ. There are a lot of hungry new talents on the roster you know I'll make them earn it, but it will give one of them a huge push." Vince says he would think about it.

Alex and Salvatore pull up to the hide out. "I thought you were shitting me when you said he'd invite us to the kitchen table." Sal tells him that's why he should trust him and not be ready to rat him out every chance he gets. "I guess you're right that was short sighted and wrong of me. Is our team back from Florida yet?" Sal nods. "Great, now all that is there is Deon's team. To keep a watch and make sure that woman's car doesn't move. I told them if she leaves to follow her, if she heads toward the police station or towards the border, to run her off the road. So far she hasn't left the house." Looking at the zip tied person in the backseat with a blanket over his head Alex asks was the doctor comfortable. A muffled sound comes from the blanket. Sal raises an eyebrow at him. "Your right stupid question. I forgot that quick that we gagged him." This afternoon they used a tactic that almost never failed, they'd disabled the good doctor's cell phone and car on a scenic backroad leading away from his country club, they drove up offer to help, he accepted and that's when they put a gun in his face, zip tied his hands at his back, and gagged him before putting the blanket over his head and setting him in the back seat.

Up at Ivey Mansion, Angel is feeding JC when Luke dashes through the living room out the front door. Thinking something was wrong with Sophie she calls her sister. "Sophie, are you ok?" Sophie says she's fine and asked had Angel heard anything. "No but Luke just ran pass me. He ran out of here so fast it was more than his I'm a doctor urgency. He literally tore through here like someone in was in behind him. He didn't even say hello, goodbye or anything." Luke must have called Sophie because she says she'd call Angel back.

Luke was about to leave Sophie a message when she answered. "Hey, I'm on my way to my dad's country club. We've called the club and they said dad left hours ago. It's 2pm and he was supposed to meet mom for lunch at noon. She's called his phone and just gets his voicemail. She read about Joshua missing, and has it in her head that dad is missing too. I keep telling myself that there is a logical explanation…" As he followed the curve of the winding road that lead to his father's country club, he sees his father's Bentley facing him on the side of the road. "I'll call you back." Sophie says for him not to hang up. She says his father didn't own the only black Bentley in town. Luke gets out of his car and rounds the back of the other car and looks at the license plate and that is when his anxiety grew. In an anxious tone he says, "But he is the only one with DOCT3N on the plate. It was a play on words since he got a speeding ticket the year he became a doctor and he has had this plate name ever since." Luke walked to the partly down window. His dad used the ac but still liked to have the window down a little. "Nothing seems to be..." Sophie cut him off and says for him not to touch anything, get back in his car, and to call the police. As if on autopilot he followed the physical instructions, "Okay I'm getting back in the car now." He closes the door and stares at his father's car for a time until Sophie breaks into his spiraling thoughts. Denial and fear warred within Luke as he numbly says "Maybe he went for a walk, Sophie he is not in his car. He wouldn't just leave it here on the side of the road with his window down. He likes that car."

She dialed into his onboard camera, that sat above his radio on his center console, and told him to look at her. Sophie didn't need Luke coming undone right now. He'd been doing so good, but impulse control issues went two ways and she didn't need his sliding too far in either direction right now. If he closed out the world now, the longer he stayed in that numb space, was like watching a timer because if his emotional grid collapsed, it would be explosive, and that could be dangerous in many ways. She tells him in a calm tone to end the call on his phone and call the police. He tells her he's afraid to make that call because what if it was true that someone took his father? What if they didn't care and told him to call back in 24. Sophie thought better of having him call the police, because if the dispatch asked "Why you let him wander off?" Or some variation of stupid questions they were famous for, she knew Luke may lose it. Sophie then suggested he call Joy. "Joy will care. Call Joy." Luke dials Joy's number holds up the phone. Sophie hated watching the raw emotion run over his features as he answered Joy's questions.

Joy: On my way onto Perry Court road by the Grandville Country Club. Talking to Luke. He sounds off, when I get there, I'm going to suggest he go home. Will assess if I should bring him home. I've heard that tone just not from anyone like him before. This may be related to Joshua's case.

Sophie: Yeah that's another reason I told him to call you. So, you hear it too?

Soon Joy arrives with a few of her team to do and on scene. She has Luke come and sit in the car with her. When one of her men walks to her car. He says that the power to the car was interrupted like the Cherry Lake Hill cars. Since Luke's was one of the Cherry Lake Hill cars that stalled and nearly got sent back down the hill into the lake, he turns to Joy his eyes were clearing of the partly fugue state he was in. His voice sounded more like him when he tells her how his mechanic solved the problem. The officer at her door asked Luke had he drove by the car or had he stopped where his car was now.

Though scared out of his mind, he wanted to ask what difference it made, but something in the way Joy was looking at him cooled that impulse and he answers the question. The officer points out the drive pattern to Joy. "It makes no sense Joy. He doesn't carry cash on him, and he has roadside assistance what the hell would make him go off with someone. He could have just called Ivey Transit or hell he could called me damnit." Seeing her flinch at his tone, he sighs. "Sorry." Joy tells him to tell her again what his mechanic said when his Hummer stalled out. He explains about his radio and the message system and how it was just enough frequency to be tagged and interrupted from a remote, but the person had to be within 20 feet. Joy looks at the bushes that lined the street and sent her man to see if there were any new tire treads in the bush line.

Over at the hideout, Vivian drives away the next mid-morning with lots on her mind. At first, she'd had it in her head that Joshua wouldn't agree to her kiss, but he had, which told her how desperate and scared he was. She really wasn't expecting to see him so trashed. She'd cleaned him up and convinced Niles to let her get him to the restroom. It was only a room away, she'd bet her life on Joshua not attacking her, and she'd helped him out of the room. He was very weak and sore. He'd kissed her but unlike on his birthday when she went in with a lusty trick and kissed him and figured he'd just been mad because his girl was there. Last night his wife wasn't around, and he had no way of getting caught, but when he'd kissed her there was no heat, when she tried to lengthen it he tried to pull away, which again proved that her assumption of any of the little fantasies in her head would end in the same ashes as when she'd launched herself at him. After the kiss, she moved around trying to prolong the time before Deon would return to the room for good and put her out. It turned out that Deon had let her stay so long because he'd passed out shortly after leaving the room. His main man Niles had told her that. She wished she could find a guy that wasn't taken that would love her like Josh loved his wife. He'd asked her to please tell his wife where he was, Vivian was prepared to not do that, but when she'd rechained Joshua to the table after helping him to the restroom. The fact that he didn't head butt her or try to hurt her spoke volumes, though she had not given him many or any reason to do so, he was trusting her. That was further proven when she got him to at the very least drink a bottled water. She'd cleared the hall and was about to walk out of the house when Deon spoke to her. He asked did she have fun playing doctor. She could tell he'd already got himself baked for the morning. Her decision was made when Deon tried to suggest she give him some head for the career he was going to give her on a silver platter. She'd claimed that she had a good time and told him that fucking him wasn't a part of her contract. He got mad and said so she'd rather fuck his captive and then yelled at her asking how she could still like the guy that got her sent to jail. She'd said the Producer was the one that got her sent to jail not Joshua. Deon had then told Niles to make her leave. If she was truthful with herself, though she would never repeat it out loud she deserved to get locked up and it was probably safer inside than in LEGNA that day after she sent the wrong red head into the wall. Jonathon's whispered threat still reminded her that he was dangerous and those stories she heard may have been true about the producer's past. Deon had allowed her to stay the whole night with Joshua and in that time frame Joshua became more than the object of her sordid little fan crush. She'd watched him as he'd fell asleep from pure exhaustion. She woke him with a small kick to his foot when the door opened, and Deon asked her out into the hall she'd woke Joshua because she didn't want Deon to hurt him in his sleep. He was in real trouble and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she didn't at least try to get word to Joshua's wife. Deon did way more drugs now than he did when they were a band that was for sure. She at first thought of weighing her career against doing the right thing, but it wasn't as much a sure thing as when she first got out and came to stay with Deon. He changed the rules almost daily and she wasn't going to fuck him.

Deon was furious and paced in front of Niles screaming his displeasure. When he'd had Vivian put out, he came back and watched what went on, his audio wasn't as good as he thought considering the sound was too low for him to hear, most of the time. He'd turned up the sound in the playback to max and still the sound didn't raise. Frustrated, he watches the nearly silent exchanges he'd missed. They didn't do much she mostly stuck close to him he was surprised by Joshua kissing her but that's when she came out and asked Niles could she take Josh to the restroom next door. Niles told her that if Davenport clobbered her that it would be her life in danger along with his. Deon was asleep by that time last night. According to Niles, he'd passed out in his den. He'd hit rewind and parts where he was beating on Joshua and yelling it was crystal clear. He wanted to know what had happened to his audio. Niles says maybe the female had something on her that interfered with the audio. As Deon was about to call Vivian his house manager came and told him his guest had arrived.

Over inside his hotel room, Andrew had found that Niles had done him a favor one of the text messages that was from an unknown sender said for him to open the envelope that he received from Niles. When he looked in, he saw the money took it out but caught a glimpse of writing on the top of a 20-dollar bill.

Will do what I can but here are some ears for your trouble.

It was an access code, that much Andrew was sure of. But who else but Niles would send him a message? The Irish sounding man that started this was a different number. Andrew couldn't very well login to his system, so he hacked the hotel and made it so that his signal would be split by how ever many lonely souls resided here. He put in the code and password and was rewarded with the image of the inside of where they were keeping Joshua. Closing his eyes, he berated himself he'd done it again he'd referred to Davenport as Joshua in his head, he couldn't afford to be undetached now. Watching Deon work over Davenport was hard enough, when Deon choked Joshua out and then slapped him awake Andrew was on the edge of his seat. When Vivian entered he heard what she said and at the very least Deon wasn't beating Davenport up anymore. Sitting back, Andrew watched the exchange and heard the deal. He fiddled around with the buttons on the screen and found he could watch the inside of the house. He wondered if she would hold up her end. Watching her support Davenport as she helped him to the restroom and the fact that she didn't clamp the cuffs back as tight as they were before, Andrew had more hope than he should that she would hold up her end. Since he'd seen Deon leave and glance at the wall where the screen would be and then walk away, he didn't want Deon to come back and be able to hear the possible plan in playback. He knew the system they were using and hacked the master control and turned down the audio. He'd woke this morning and slid back out of the data stream and left the hotel room. This location would be on the map for irregular activity now. One thing was true he wasn't as good as Bobby at cloaking his work.

After getting the disturbing call from Sophie about Luke's dad missing, Angel stayed up In JC's room with him. Their baby must have picked up on her mood, or just missed his daddy, because he was extra whiney, and if she put him down, he would literally make her regret it, because the minute he noticed he wasn't in her arms he'd break out crying. She held him and rocked him, and at one point tried to sing to him, but couldn't. She'd tried to sing the Johnny-Chase song and ended up crying her damn self. Janet poked her head in and asked could she hang out with JC for a while. "Where?" Janet says here. Just as Angel was about to make another excuse to just stay up here, her phone rings. Looking up at her cousin she says, "Okay, just don't take him out of the house." Janet says she wasn't leaving the house she just wanted to help her cuzo anyway she could. "Thanks Jan." Angel hands JC to Janet and looked at her phone. She heads into her bedroom. After all the messages she'd sent she almost didn't believe the ring tone was really Andrew. "Hello?"

"Angel don't talk just listen." Well that didn't work. She asked him why he did this and where is her husband, and why he would do this to them. "STOP damn it, that's not important right now. Look, Davenport is at a place called Rose Manner or at least he said it used to be called that. Deon has him." She was so quiet he wanted to explain but he couldn't risk her trying to trace his location. "Bye Angel." Andrew hangs up.

At the hideout Deon comes from the room he had Joshua in since the place wasn't sound proof and his house manager didn't say who his guest was, he'd laid down a few mind fucks to Joshua and left him to stew over whether he was telling the truth. He walks into the kitchen and met with Alex, and Salvatore "Well I hope you have better news than I do." Alex asked what he meant and said for Deon please to not tell him that his kid escaped or something. "Oh no it's purely an electronic thing, my audio was screwy on a few parts of my surveillance recording in playback. Here is the money for your men's work you will see it is all there." Alex asks to see his son before he went any further.

Inside the room Joshua pulled at the cuffs he didn't want to think that Angel would come here with only Bradley as back up, but he'd done a lot of shit himself in the past to help or try to save people he loved. Niles came in he looked up at the guy as he approached and leans on the table. He gets close enough to Joshua's face not to be head butted and says in a low tone, "I know you have no reason to believe me, but your wife nor brother is here." Niles stands back up and walks out of the room.

Inside the car under the blanket Dr. Lucas Sheldon Sr. tries to pull his hands out of the zip tie. He tried not to think of what he was doing to his wrists, but he had to get the fuck out of here. He stops and listens he could hear crunching of gravel. The door opens, and hands grab him. He tries to fight them off it was bad enough he had been moved from where he was captured. They grab ahold of his feet and drag him out of the car. Though he was gagged he didn't let up on trying to curse them out. That is until the blanket came off and he looked up at the man that had offered to help him with his car that then put a gun to his head. They guy says he knows that this was a lot to take in, so he wanted his guest of honor to be rested. Felling the prick of a needle Lucas's world slides in to fog and then to black.

Alex is assured that the drug would wear off in a little under an hour. They carry the doctor to the room Deon had his son in. Alex looked at the screen and wanted to blow Deon's head off his shoulders. He couldn't show any emotion. If Sal thought for a second, he cared about Boy other than to cure his blood he'd have given the den something to use to keep him in line. Deon asks what now. "Now we wait for the doctor to wake up from his nap." Alex has Deon's men lay the doctor on the floor and put the blanket that had been obscuring his identity from Joshua under his head and leave them in the room together. The look that stole over Boy's face when he realized that he knew his roommate made Alex want to know what other than recognition that was in his son's gaze. They walk back to the kitchen with Sal watching the screen to make sure that when the doctor was done with his nap, they could start this thing. Sal had first balked at the idea of watching the captives but then shrugged and said Alex was running this. Alex had stayed out of the room on purpose he didn't want Boy to know he was here yet. As he sat at the table with Deon. Deon rolled a few and asked him did he want to join the party. "No, it would be kind of stupid for me to come to all this trouble just to fuck up my own procedure. Thanks for having all this set up."

Deon says "You did most of the work. You trained my newer men to do a job they won't soon forget. I had a blast paying Josh back for most of the shit he has put me through. I can't wait until he gives you what you need then I will have his wife and my ex come get him and capture them but, you might want to say goodbye to him after the doctor works his magic, because unlike our arrangement I won't let them live." Deon takes a drag from his cigar filled with drugs and starts coughing. He looks at it and says "That's, excellent."

Back at Ivey Mansion, Angel tells the first person she thinks can help that she sees. As she runs down the stairs, she sees Chase. "Dad, Andrew called, he says that Joshua is at what used to be Rose Manner. I don't know if it's a trick but it's more than we have." As Chase is about to speak her phone rings again. This time she didn't want to answer but so many things didn't make sense right now, that anything was possible. "Hello Vivian, I really don't have time to set up your home coming party."

"Cute. Angel I spent the night with Joshua. He's hurt and afraid and rightfully so, because Deon has lost what is left of his drugged-out mind. The only reason I'm talking to you is because I am holding up my end of our deal. Get him out of there because even though he doesn't want me, I don't want him dead either. He in a house across the lake from your place, you can see the top of the house it has a wraparound balcony on two levels. The address is." Angel says the address with her. "So, you knew, and didn't care enough to send in help for him damn you're a cold-hearted bitch." Angel tells her that Andrew called her and said Joshua was at what used to be Rose Manner minutes before Viv called. "Wow so from what Joshua told me, after the agent double crossed him, told him it wasn't personal, Andrew admitted to still being stuck on you, I'm surprised he didn't just come back there and try to help you through the pain of missing your mate and make a move on you." Angel starts to say something. Vivian cuts her off "Anyway did Andrew tell you that, Joshua is in a room on the first floor towards the back of the house the room has no exterior windows. There are 8 guards, that always patrol the property. Deon has three people inside that works for him maybe adding Andrew to that mix, so Angel get him out of there before your bodyguard kills your husband. Oh, and if you do get him back please tell Joshua that his kiss was repaid." Vivian smiles as she'd heard Angel say his what right before she hung up.

As Angel hung up, she wasn't going to think about the last part. Right now, she had two people that has told her where Joshua is that she didn't expect to hear from. She doubted they were working together either way she had to try. She tells Chase everything because she feared filtering of her words could get something important lost in translation. Chase called Joy and at the same time as he was inviting her over, he pulled his Blackberry and texted something and put it back in his pocket. Angel had no idea the older phone was still active.

Angel went to the third floor and looks out at where her husband is. Rose Manner or what used to be called Rose Manner. Victor Rose was a wealthy married man that loved throwing Halloween galas, his wife was a part of the GSSEC. Angel remembers the first year Joshua and she met, she went to his house for his birthday but was bummed that she would not be having her own party at her place, so she could invite him. She told Joshua that her mother was making her go to the party in Rose Manner. She tried to get Chase to change Sophia's mind, but it was a social thing and Sophia had won that argument. What her mother wasn't expecting was that Angel would for once have someone there with her that she wanted to be with, and that boy was Joshua Davenport. Oh, Sophia raged and threatened, but Chase had told her that if she was making Angel go to these god-awful galas on her own birthday, then she should at least get to bring someone she got along with as her plus one. Joshua had dressed as the Phantom of the Opera complete with an old fashion tux. Later in life Joshua told her how he came about that costume. As small a smile touches Angel's lips as she thought of Sally hard at work with her sewing machine. Josh said that Michael had Sally tailor an old tux of his and found a mask from the year Sally went to a mascaraed party and altered it. It worked perfectly that was one of the best birthdays at a GSSEC gala Angel would ever have. Joshua as the Phantom and she of all people, dressed as Wonder Woman, sat on the steps, drinking punch, looking down at the party and making fun of everyone. The next year, Mr. Rose and his wife suddenly moved out of not only Grandville South Proper, but out of Texas all together. Getting up she had to do something Joshua was now so far away yet so very close if he was in there, she could see the outline of the huge Georgian style home that sat across the massive Cherry Lake from their home. Jonathon surprised her as he said he wondered where she'd run off to. When he stayed the night, he now stayed up here on the third floor across for this room. She explains about the calls she received once again not leaving anything out. She points at the center of the skyline. "If it's at all true all this time Joshua has been somewhere in that house over across the lake. If it's not true Andrew and now Vivian are working together, and Deon has been mentioned both times. Whatever part of this is true, one thing is certain, we have to get Joshua away from Deon."

Jonathon tells her he had to make a call and walks back across the hall into his bedroom. "Yes, may I speak to Joseph please?" Joey comes on the line. "I may have found a solution to what I'm paying you for. Deon Baza the new don of the Vargo family I have the location, but I also have a problem. My son is there, and I don't want him hurt. No, he's not a part of their family, he was captured. I don't know why, every time we think we have an answer someone comes along and changes the question." Joey asks for the address. Jonathon tells him. Joey says it was very helpful of him to have called he was starting to think things about Jonathon and was glad his story matched someone else's. Joey then hangs up.

Sophie sits in the den with Luke who is laying on her. He'd been like this ever since shortly after Joy drove him back in his car and they had argued. It was one thing for Sophie to hear him slide in and out of his fugue state, but it was quite another to witness it in person. One minute, he'd be silent and the next he'd be ready to go find his father on his own and when she wouldn't let him out of the house they argued. Luke had got it in his head that since they knew where Joshua was that he would go get them both back. The determination in her husband's dark blue gaze reminded her of another blue-eyed person in her family that is in a lot of trouble right now. She'd tried calmly speaking to him. Calm wasn't going to cut it anymore. That evaporated into her screaming at him as she stood in his way and refused to move. He yelled back what was he supposed to do. She yelled she didn't know but she just knew she couldn't let him go out there an end up in the fucking lake trying to get onto a property that was heavily guarded by well-armed fucking mobsters. He'd said he would be watchful. It was dirty, but it was truth when she said "Joshua was paranoid, armed, and watchful, and according to footage that Andrew tried to delete that Joy recovered, none of it helped. You are not a stupid man, you know they would be on high alert expecting someone to show up. This shit terrifies me Luke, as I'm sure it does everyone in this house old enough to understand what's at stake." She remembers the look on his face as the anger was once again replaced by dread. He walked away from where he'd stood mere inches from her at the door and sat on the sofa with his hands up to his face. For long minutes he said little to nothing. Sophie had no doubt that this emotional shift was one of the biggest impulses Luke had to deal with in a long time. She understood, hell they all wanted to storm the castle sort of speak, but it was a stupid impulsive plan that had too many ways to fail. She'd sat next to him and he laid his head in her lap.

Luke thought a long time about what Sophie was saying. She'd been asleep when this nightmare started. Just last year she nearly lost her own life trying to get her father back. She was strong, but he'd seen the cracks. Her family, their family had already been through so much. He yelled at her that she didn't understand, that was a lie because she understood way more than he ever wanted to. He sits up and looks her in the eye and says "I'm sorry Sophie, because you have had to go through this before and are still, and tonight I'm sure my words didn't make it any better. I'm sorry I scared you. You're right, because me running over there and getting shot at more than likely even if I managed to survive, my presence could make things worse." He stands up and Sophie does too, did she think he was going run out of the room? Had he given her a reason not to think along those line? He sighs "I haven't broken a promise to you and don't plan on starting. I'm not going anywhere near that house, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. I'll head to Sheldon Medical here in Grandville South. If this remains the only thing I can think about, I'm going lose it."

Sophie saw the shudder that ran through him. "Ok, I trust you." She walks him to their garage and watched him leave. It was a small comfort that he wasn't slipping in and out of a fugue state anymore, but his mind was still in overdrive.

Outside the room watching Davenport and the sleeping form of the doctor Sal put his other plan into action. He'd made a call to his team. They were scouting to see if there were more ways to do this. He spotted three armed guards when they arrived but knew there had to be more than three. While he thought of how he was going to do this he looked up in time see the doctor move.

"So, my wife was right. The news was so vague. At 6 in the morning you were listed as a local pub owner that had not come home. By noon your name and photo populated most of the channels and you were listed as missing. That was yesterday. Why am I here?"

Joshua looked up when he heard Luke's father talking to him. "I don't know exactly because any time I think it's one person someone else pops up." As if on cue, someone Joshua hadn't seen before walks in and tells him that was enough talking. He then asks Dr. Sheldon where his doctor bag was.

Lucas narrowed his eyes and asked. "You are joking right?" the man that had helped abduct him pulls his gun and points it at Lucas's head saying no he didn't joke. Lucas didn't even own a doctor's bag any longer, let alone carry one to his country club. If his son needed him as consult, he went to the fully upgraded center that bared his surname and used the equipment there. He was retired for Christ sakes. Not wanting to get shot at close range he says, "It's in my trunk in a black case. I didn't have it up front because I was heading home. I haven't done house calls in a long while. I'm retired." His son's brother agrees with him that he is retired.

Alex walks in and the look his son threw him was one he hadn't expected before it was replaced by anger. "So, I think you have figured out why you are here." He turns to Sal "Is the good doctor ready to gets this show on the road?"

"I'm glad he knows your plan, but I haven't the faintest Idea what you want from me." When Alex says what he needed and why, Lucas looks at Mr. Davenport. "Unless you have a sterile environment somewhere in this house it could be deadly for you both." Sal speaks about the doctor's med bag. Alex steps out of the room to ask Deon about the arrangements they had spoken about. Deon says that room was almost finished but he would put a rush on it. Alex asks would they need the doctor's bag. "It all depends on what you have. You are all armed, and I don't have a fatal fantasy so will you please take these things off me?" Sal snips the zip tie "Thank you." Lucas says as he rubs his wrists. Deon waltzed in the room and whispers something at Joshua slaps him in the face then leaves back out.

Sal and Alex follow him. Alex says he wants to see the room. Deon tells Niles to watch their guests. Niles nods and positions himself in front of the viewing screen. The house manager walks with Deon and the guys to a room pass the kitchen and up the stairs. Deon opens the door and Alex grabs Deon. The house manager reached for his weapon, but Sal was quicker and put his gun to Deon's head using him as a shield. "Unless you want his brains all over the floor, you will take you hand from your waist." The house manager looks at Deon. Deon tells him to do what Alex's partner said. The man moves his hand from his waist. Alex asks Deon what he was trying to pull. Deon said he figured they would only need one hospital bed since he was the only one that was going to survive. The set up as Deon called it, was a bunch of needles set on a battered dresser, and one hospital bed with a stained sheet on it. Sal sighs "Ok boys we need that doctor's bag, it's bound to have a hell of a lot more than we have. Let's just calm down and I'll leave and go get the bag and see if I can at this late hour score some real equipment." Alex says yeah because he wasn't leaving he'd come too far to fail. "Fair enough, oh and Deon if you get the idea of killing my coworker here, my boss will open up the gateway to hell at your front door. In short you won't exist anymore, and neither will this beautiful house. You boys play nice." Sal turns and walks back down the stairs and out of the backdoor.

Lucas gets to his feet minutes after the men leave them alone. Joshua says in a subdued voice "Whatever you're thinking don't. They are watching and can hear us." Lucas walks over and sat on the edge of the table and ask what his ex-bass player said to him. "It doesn't matter."

Lucas get up and gets in the younger man's face. "The hell it doesn't. If he told you his plans for us I deserve to know what I'm up against." The younger man looks away from him and says he was safe as far as he knew. Lucas drops his voice to just above a whisper. "I'm not a fool, I saw their faces not that I'd be able to remember them in a line up. Take away their guns, and they don't really have anything about them that is distinctive. Two white males with dark hair. Do you know how much of Texas alone that description covers? Hell, you and I both would fit such a vague description. Mr. Davenport what did he say?" When Davenport looks at him Lucas already knew before the words left his mouth.

When Alex showed up, he'd thought that though he didn't want this to happen Alex would take what he needed and let him go. Joshua looked Luke's dad in the eyes and says in that numb tone he used before. "Deon isn't going to let me out of here alive. All he has to do with you is make sure you don't know where this place is and you're safe. He has no reason to kill you." Lucas gets closer still and says there is a massive search party beyond these walls. "The only people that knows where I am and that can tell my family, works for Deon. One has the hots for my wife, and the other has some weird obsession with me and blames me for ending her music career that Deon has promised to revive for her." Remembering the meeting at the hotel he says "I had a chance to make this right. My hate for him is going to be what gets me killed. I should have just agreed and then he wouldn't have had to do all this. He warned me, and I thought I was being so careful." An auditory illusion assaults him of Angel telling him to "be extra careful" the night all this started. "will do" he says on a choked sob as tears run unchecked from his eyes as he lowers his head onto the table.

Lucas touches the young man's back in a gesture of comfort and was surprised when the young man jerked away from him. He'd seen the visible bruises that peppered the young man's face, and exposed skin, but from the quick indrawn shuddering breath he wondered just how injured his son's brother was. "Mr. Davenport?"

Joshua unclenched his fist and tried to relax. Taking a breath, he says "Dr. Sheldon just call me Joshua, I cut up my back on something. It didn't start bothering me until I woke in my office and got tasered by someone that was supposed to be protecting me."

That explained the leads that were still stuck like fish hooks in Joshua's flesh. "I want you to know that I'm going to try my hardest to get us both out of this mess." At first Joshua looked at him as if he was going to say something then said ok.

At a new hotel Andrew gets a text message telling him to play DJ again. He set up his internet bouncer and watched what was going on in the room, and nearly fell out of his chair when he saw Luke Sheldon's father sitting on the table talking to Joshua. In his head he had dropped the detached routine the moment he heard Angel ask him what he wanted. She'd asked why he did it. He had no answers that'd make any of this go away. He just hoped she believed him when he told her where Joshua is. For the longest time Andrew tried to remain detached, and call Joshua, "Davenport" to help keep that detachment but somewhere in between Angel telling him to wake the fuck up and stop asking her out, and Bobby rolling down that dark street and telling him to do his job and nothing more for fear that he was the rouge agent that was working for April. He'd proven to not only Angel and Joshua but Bobby as well that he could do the job and keep his charges safe, until now. He'd even been invited to events that had enough cover before he was awarded a major boost in rank to a close protection agent. Coming back out of his reverie, Andrew heard what Niles wanted him to turn down the sound on. Any talk of escape and it would trigger Deon's crazy ass to hurt them or even kill them. Andrew hit rewind and saw Alex, so Alex was a part of this. Through a face recognition program, he sent in the still shot of the other man in the room. His system dinged at him telling him he had a message.

Soon after Luke left, Joy called and asked could she bring Sophie's mother in law Ella to the house. Sophie said she'd prefer it. Joy says, "Sophie, Ella almost fainted upon seeing me walk up to the porch. Her house manager let me in and before I opened my mouth she paled, I've seen that look more times than I ever wanted to as a detective. I told her what we know." When Joy leaves Sophie walks to the atrium door and watched Ella as she sat in the living room. She offered her mother in law something to drink. Ella shook her head. She'd seen how Luke was wired to deal with things, but Ella's silent suffering was deafening. Seeing this side of Ella was ripping Sophie apart. Sophie sits near her mother in law and says, "They are going to get them back."

Ella looks up at Sophie her daughter and says. "Oh, Sophie, they must. I can't lose Lucas" She paused to take a breath and though she did not say it aloud she thought, "I can't lose him now If I did, my world would fall into an impenetrable darkness." As she looks at her daughter she says "Lucas and I have been married for almost 47 of the best years of my life. This doesn't make sense, in all Lucas's time of practicing medicine, even when he first started in the clinics in underprivileged areas of Glenview, no one ever wanted to hurt him. When the gangs took over that block, they liked and respected my husband enough to leave his clinic alone. To this day Sheldon Clinic is literally the only building that remains unharmed on that block. I find that this is just so hard to wrap my mind around, Lucas is a good man? Why couldn't they take the morally vagrant bitch that is spouting nonsense about my son? Her, they leave alone to continue her lies." At the look of confusion on her daughter's face. Ella realized too late that her hurt and anger may have loosened her tongue a bit too much. She was then saved by the phone in Sophie's hand playing a song that had been played at her son and daughter's wedding. Ella mouths "Tell Luke hello for me. I'm going to go lie down for a bit." Sophie pointed towards the room that Candy used to occupy. Ella nodded and gets up and walks into the room closing the door. She knelt at the end of the bed and prayed for Lucas and Joshua's safe return.

Joy returns home and was surprised at the smell of food cooking. "Bobby?" Angel walks out of the kitchen saying he's in his home office. Her soon to be sister calling her mate's war room an office made her smile at the memory of him telling her that his family really didn't know what he did. "Angel, what are you doing here besides cooking something that smells really good? Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome. I asked Bobby if he wouldn't mind some company. Bobby texted back sure and that he was ordering takeout for you guys and asked did I want some, I offered to cook. Ella is at the house. So is Sally and Michael. If anyone else ask, have I heard anything new I'm going to scream. Cass and Rapture came over hours after Andrew and Vivian called me. I just needed to get out of there. My dad dropped me off on his way back up to LEGNA." Alarm stole over Joy's expression as she asked where her nephew was. "He's with his grandpa Chase." Joy gets an alert and excuses herself. Angel retuned to the kitchen.

Joy walks to Bobby's war room and knocks. He can be heard moving around and then says come. Joy opens the door and closes it behind her. He was in his element, for a time she just soaked him in. His sleeves rolled up, his hair tied back, out of his strong face. His dark intent gaze on his screen. He looks up at her over his main computer and asks did she get his message. "Yeah, like two minutes after I walked in and thought we'd acquired a cooking and cleaning fairy." Joy says with a smile and approached the rounded desk and sits next to her mate. "So, you think Andrew is moving closer?" Bobby points out something that popped up minutes ago. Joy opens her laptop and logged in. Andrew's tag was using a police database that she had let Bobby and his team use. Joy had helped create the software for the program. "He fucking thinks he can use my damn database and I'm not going to say anything. Fat chance Agent Dumb Ass."

Capt. Wildflower J": Hello Agent Stark care to tell me where Mr. Davenport and Dr. Sheldon are? Don't disconnect or I will take that very personally and send a SWAT team to your location.

She'd hacked his damn laptop which made this all that much worse for him. She'd jumped over his firewall in the few minutes he was on. Even if she didn't have an exact room location, he would be hard pressed to leave this building. She'd have him pinned down the minute he tried to reroute the signal. He responded using the same message program.

Agent Stark A.: Capt. Wildflower I have intel, but I don't have them. They are in a house across the lake from Ivey Mansion. I have the updated blueprints of the location and where target one and target two are being held. Sending share feed please do not rush my location. There is also video surveillance of the location's inside.

Joy accepts the video share request after scanning it for viruses she wouldn't be taken down by something desperate and juvenile. She keeps an eye on the other screen Bobby had opened for her that would still be searching for the exact location. The building he was in had 45 floors including an underground garage. When she sees the other video, she sits closer to the screen, and taps Bobby on the arm telling him to look. He writes on a piece of paper may he join in. She shakes her head and makes a flying motion with her hand this was the most intel they had received since the phone calls and her retrieving the deleted parts of video, and she didn't want Andrew seeing Bobby's user name and running. With the fact that the building was an older one with more steel. The older construction made it harder to locate his exact room location.

As Niles stands watching Joshua Davenport and Dr. Lucas Shelden on the screen, he was running out of time, he'd been in this so long that at times the lines were starting to blur. Strapping on the paramilitary uniform to play the part of a STOP team member to help extract Stark and Davenport from Davenport's club had reminded him of just why he was here. He'd been deep undercover for 5 years now. When Henriette was here, he'd never been able to get where he was in rank within the family. He'd worked hard to gain her trust when she'd brought in Deon, he'd made sure to be the extra good hard worker that accepted the new leader, and it had paid off, he was Deon's number 1 inside and now his outside number one as well with Ben dead. He'd seen way too much to let this continue. He would help Andrew as best he could until he was in position. His superiors weren't interested in a small-time drug dealer they wanted the bigger fish signed, seal, and delivered. When he submitted his extraction request this morning before Deon woke, he was approved to move forward. Andrew sent him a message.

A Stark: Is this live?

KN: Yes, just keep an ear out for anything that we may have to play music on.

Angel knocked on the door. Soon Joy comes out and closes the door behind her. Angel steps back not to be in Joy's face and says that dinner is ready. Bobby walks out with a tablet in one hand and his phone in the other. Joy says "Though we don't have them back. Angel I have at the very least what is called proof of life. I have verified that it is a live feed or moving video surveillance of Joshua and Dr. Sheldon." Angel asks to see it. Joy turns to Bobby. Angel looks up at him as well. Bobby says it was Joy's case. Angel says but it's her husband and the father of her brother in law. "Angel this isn't like a conference call more than likely he knows someone is watching but doesn't know who. We are going to follow the plan of going in tomorrow morning." Angel refocused on Joy and asks to please let her see it. Joy thought about it, and when she'd seen Joshua so beaten up she'd leaned into Bobby who closed his own eyes for a moment. "Okay," Bobby hands the tablet over and Angel's eyes brim with unshed tears as she touches the screen. She looks up and asks isn't there a way they can get them out of there tonight. "No Angel as much as I want to, I can't risk missing an extra crew of guards. I'm not risking their lives and the lives of my team on some information that I can't verify. We have proof of life. We have an address and a blueprint including the new remodeling done in the last 5 years. Are you staying the night, if so I'll let Chase know when I share the newest details with him?" Bobby reaches for the tablet and comments on how good the food smelled.

Angel put the tablet to her chest and pleads with them both to let her keep it just until they finished eating. "I'd like to stay the night. I'm torn because here I can at the very least see him. I know I should be home with my son but last night I laid in JC's room on the floor near his crib on Joshua's air mattress. I'm glad my baby got sleep because every smell or area of our child's room reminds me of our time in there as a family. Our bedroom is…" Joy cuts her off and says she understands. They sit down to eat, and Angel tilts the screen, so she could see.

Alex walked down the hall to check on his son. Niles stood blocking the screen. Alex soon stands next to Deon's number one soldier. "How's he doing?"

Niles looked at Alex. "If you want the bare bones truth your man had better get back here soon. Davenport had less than 6 ounces of water since this party started. He refuses to eat or drink for fear that we are going to poison him. The doctor asked to be able to take the leads out from the taser but my boss likes pulling on them because it brings Davenport pain." Alex walks away. and soon can be heard repeating what he said. Deon called for Niles. He runs into the kitchen what he saw before him was an opportunity. Deon was on his way to pass out land and this time he'd talked the other three house guards including Jamie that was the house manager into partaking. They sat staring at the fridge with blank expressions on their faces. He could take control of the house. He'd only have one shot at this. All he needed was for Deon to pass out. A few times since this operation started, he wished Deon would just pass on into hell. Niles five years ago fucked up a mission and got sent here. Back then, he always balked at desk work, after his debriefing he was taking a long vacation, and would happily return to his office in Washington D.C.

"Help me to my room, I seemed to have forgot that I have a date coming. Vivian won't fuck me so I'm getting keyboardist tail tonight. That's right, Alice formerly of Angelic Impression plays better than the self-taught bitch I used to love," He moves his slight accent into the over exaggerated combination of South African and English. He winks at Niles and says it worked on his first blonde. Niles helps Deon to his room.

"Before I go back down there is it ok for the doctor to take the leads out of Davenport? That could set up infection and blow this deal." Deon turns to him and tells him do whatever just make it hurt, he just wanted his prize tonight and would worry about anything else tomorrow. Alice shows up at the bedroom door. Niles sees she had a key." He congratulates her and walks back down the stairs. As he reenters the kitchen the guards and house manger were passed out. He did a perimeter check. No way in hell that woman would have got in here without someone knowing key or no key. The team guarding the front of the house says they made contact before letting her pass and asked was there a problem on the inside. He radios back, "No problem, just making sure our boss's fun package came alone." That also made him look for Alex. It wasn't hard to find him he stood watching the screen. Niles didn't get the man. He'd seen the flash of anger that passed over the guy's face when he first saw Davenport but hell, he'd ordered this shit. "Have you heard from your partner?" Alex says not yet. "Look I need you to cover me, or I can cover you bottom line, we need to get in there get the doctor to check him out." Niles had seen Sheldon trying to check out Davenport without it being obvious, but it's pointless with nothing to work with. "Davenport catches an infection, and you both are toast." Alex asks is there anymore medical shit around here other than the shit in the room Deon had set up. "I have a kit it's basic, but I did my research, this doctor used to work on 72nd street in Glenview in a clinic back in the day. I don't have anything that would be able to replace all the shit you need, but at least a modified safety kit could get him cleaned up and we'd get to see if the doctor's hands are still steady. Nothing in the research said why he turned over the med centers." Alex nods his head and agreed that he would go in. Niles goes to his private room and picks up his safety kit. When he renters the hall Alex was where he left him.

Inside the room Alex soon walked in with a metal safety kit and set it as his feet. "Dr. Sheldon you are going to check him out, get those fucking hooks out of him? Considering you did remind me many times that you are retired, this is a test to see if you still got it. So, if you got some disorder that isn't on the record that made you give up the medical centers, this would be the time to come clean." Sheldon stood from where he sat on the table. In a way it looked as if he was guarding Boy. What had he missed? Boy wouldn't even meet his gaze. That didn't stop Sheldon from speaking up.

"Over half of my life I've dedicated to my work. Of all things that I will have to do against my will here, helping him isn't one of them. I accept your challenge and ask that you do me a favor. Hand me the key to the cuffs. Think of it this way, he's not going to attack me because I'm not here to harm him. This room is covered by armed men and the last thing I want is someone shooting us through that fucking mirror, so you know that I won't attack you. I'll need to scrub up somewhere, you can watch if you like, you don't seem to be the trusting sort and the feeling is mutual." Alex asked why he needed to uncuff Boy to work on him. Sheldon sighs trying not to show too much in the way of his true feelings. "Sir, I know you're in charge you've proven that, but I do believe he's much older than a boy. You've address me by my title why not address him with some of the same respect? Symbolically, and quite literally his life's blood is what will save your life. A life you value and have proven you will do most anything to preserve."

Alex opens his mouth looks at Boy and says. "He's my kid and I'll call him what I want. You got a problem with that tuff shit doc. I'll ask you one more time, why do you need to uncuff my kid to work on him?" Sheldon points out that his kid had been in that position for at the very least 36 hours. He says he didn't have very good lighting and at the very least if Joshua laid on the table, he'd be able to remove the charge hooks at an easier angle then trying to turn his own mature body into a pretzel. Sheldon steps back and pulls up Joshua's pant leg showing him the dark puffy circles that were above and below the cuff on his ankle. "What the hell is that?"

"That is edema or swelling caused by not only the tightness of the metal but also lack of movement, add in the dehydration and in short you are harming the only person that can help you." Alex says he hadn't noticed that he was cuffed at the feet as well. "I'm sure there's a lot you haven't noticed but that's neither here nor there."

Alex says, "Watch it doc. Hall now." As he walks over and grabs ahold of the doctor.

Hearing the steel in Alex's voice, Joshua lifted his head in time to see Alex move closer toward them and grab Dr. Sheldon by the arm pulling him out of the room. "Dr. Shelden, what I said earlier only applies if you don't make them mad at you in the process."

Alex let's go of the doctor and says. "Whatever he told you earlier, you should listen to him. You wanted to scrub up and the only place you can do that is next door, I'm telling you this isn't the country club you take a swing at me and we will have to bring in another doctor."

Lucas looks from Joshua then back at Alex and says, "I'm sorry that was over the line."

Across the lake at Ivey Mansion, Chase, Amy, Sophie, Paula, Cassandra, and Sally sit in the den listening and watching the video chat screen on Sophie's computer As Joy, Bobby, and Angel appear in two windows at Bobby's home Joy speaks to the people in the house and to her team updating them on what new information they received. Gloria with Jonathon is soon plugged in from LEGNA. Chase asks most of the questions as he typed between his phone and his tablet. At one point he said. "Gloria I am happy that you have managed to keep a lot of the reports as invasive as possible if you can please keep this up. Angel don't feel obligated to come back right now I understand. If you can, please try to get some sleep tonight." Sophie chimes in and agrees. Angel looks at the window with her father in it and back at the live feed on the tablet and says she will try. Bobby says he has that feed on his computer in his, Joy cuts him off and says his home office. Everyone was brought up to speed and Joy asked was there any more questions. They all said no the secure window that Bobby had set up for the conference call was then shut down.

Salvatore spoke to a few people and was able to talk one of the Wolfe's associates into letting him barrow a med vehicle. He heads back and calls Alex who is in a mood. "Look I have a bigger gift than a doctor bag in a car that is being watched by the cops. How you would like a whole med vehicle? Then we can take our little show on the road." Alex says that sounded a lot better than what they had. "I'm on my way." Sal calls his team and says, "I'm 5 blocks from location one on my signal kill the lights and shoot anything that tries to stop me." Just then a police car pulls behind him and hits its lights. Great, G north cops were mostly on the take and would know who he worked for. When the officer pulled in front of him and walked back with his gun drawn. Even better a state cop. Salvatore waited until the guy got to his door asking him to turn off the engine. He says the code word. "DCC" the officer points his already drawn weapon at Sal's head. Was this rookie serious? "You're a little too old to be this stupid do you know who I…" Someone opens his passenger side door and points a gun at his groin. "You have my full attention what is it you boys need?"

"You're not the only one that likes to play dress up. You are going to continue with your little ruse Fenny" At the man's shocked expression the man that now sat in the passenger seat with his gun still pointed at Sal's manhood continues "I am not without resources. When this is over if I still don't like your answers more than your manhood will be dead and on display. If you say anything that is signal based to your team, it will slow me down, but you won't live past the second word of your code. I will not fail in taking down your entire cell. Or I will drop you at Wolfe's doorstep and let him deal with his unruly children. Your move, queen."

Alex watched the doctor scrub up and opened the door back into the room his son was in. He asked for the key. Niles asked what he needed it for. He wanted to see this low life squirm and squirm he did. He tells Niles about how his partner had found everything he would need so all he needed was his son and they could get it done and he could then leave the doc and his so for Deon. "First off, lower your voice, were you raised in a barn?" Alex glared at him. "I promise you'll only get one swing and I'll plant your little ass out back in the garden." Niles hands Alex the key and says he'd have to run the rest of the plan by his boss. Alex runs in the room and soon comes back out. "So how are we getting all this equipment in here tonight?" Alex says his partner found a med truck. Niles says, "You can't bring them back, Deon will kill them and I'm trying to keep my meal ticket out of prison." Alex says he can't keep them if he has to he'll just have to killed them after he gets what he wants because he couldn't risk the doctor or his son getting him arrested. He says that he'll have back up from his own crew this time. This time he would do shit right." Wait so maybe I saw something that wasn't there. When you first got here you looked pissed that Deon had went so far, now you're telling me that you'd kill your kid and some doctor that you don't even know?" Alex yells he fucked up before he wouldn't make that mistake twice.

Inside the room Dr. Sheldon and Joshua listen to the verbal exchange happening right outside the door. Joshua looked up at Dr. Sheldon as he went back to uncuffing him from the table. Joshua felt weighted all over, like he'd just come out of the pool. "I thought Deon would at the very least let you go."

Dr. Sheldon spoke in a lowered tone as he opened the safety kit. "Joshua, I have a question yes or no?" The young man looked at him. "With him and his men moving us, even if by some miracle your ex band member told your wife we will no longer be where she knew you were. We're both dead anyway, why just hand him life? At the very least he will have gone to all this trouble for nothing. If I refuse, he'll kill me, he's planned to do that regardless so what's the point of being fucking compliant?"

Joshua was shaking and couldn't stop. Fear, sorrow, and anger pummeled his emotional grid. He hadn't cried this much since laying on his office floor when he thought Angel had left him. But now though he it wasn't his choice, just when he'd got everything he ever prayed for, a wife and child that loves him, even a stronger bond with his adoptive family, and even in-laws that loved him. Just when everything seemed to come together Alex was going to take him away from all of it, for good. Fear for his son pushed the words from him. "No, do it, I should have done it when he asked the first time. I'm sorry you got pulled into this Dr. Sheldon. I really am. It'll be hard enough leaving my family behind, but Alex has proven that he can get around some of what we thought were the best safety measures. If this don't work, he'll go after my son and my brother your son to do it. At least if he gets what he wants they'll be safe once and for all." Sheldon has him lean back in the chair. The pain of moving from the position he'd been in for almost 2 days was extremely painful. He was having trouble breathing and he was sure crying wasn't helping. Sheldon removes one of the hooks that was shot into his skin by his close protection agent. He barley felt it when Sheldon snagged his skin trying to get the next hook out. He watched the blood stream down his arm and collect over the tattoo he'd had done to cover up his past self-harm. Just like he couldn't see the words anymore he'd never see his family again.

Though his emotions swung like a pendulum from hopeless depression to anger Lucas continued patching up his patient. When he dabs at the blood on the young man's forearm, he felt the scar tissue and he knew the art underneath spoke of a different pain. This young man and his son were around the same age. "I don't accept your apology because none of this is your fault. The man that claims you as his "kid" Lucas snarls "had you captured, he is the only one at fault. That man is no father because there isn't a real father that would do this to their own. You had every right to refuse him. This isn't a sure thing, nothing medical is a sure thing. Even if you are a match. You keep saying that you should have agreed sooner. If you had of went through with it and it failed, he would have been back." As he took the bandage off Joshua's forehead. He worked as he spoke. "Joshua, I made you a promise when I first arrived. I'm the one that is sorry son, because I'm afraid there is nothing, I can do to help either of us out of this situation."

Angel, who'd been watching the live feed jumps from the guest bed and runs down the hall. Yes, they were scheduled to rush the location at 8 a.m. but that would not help Joshua if Alex took them somewhere before then. She knocked on Bobby's home office door. Joy came from the kitchen asking what was wrong. Bobby comes out of his office and ask Joy to come watch something. The words sprung from Angel as if self-propelled. She quickly says that Alex was planning to move Joshua and Dr. Sheldon and that Alex was planning on killing them both. Joy takes the tablet and calls her people asking questions as she heads into Bobby's office. Bobby looks from her to back at the door that had just closed. He says he needs to get back in there. Angel hugs him and just as quickly released him when he winced she says sorry and headed back down the hall. He says, "Angel if I wasn't injured, I'd be out there, you know that right?" She turns around looks at him and nods. Bobby heads back into his war room and sat at his computer. He asks Joy a question and she told him she'd already made contact and for him to speak to Andrew.

Andrew had told them everything Bobby saw a lot of things that he would add later into the report he would send to Harold. Only after interviewing the other agents that were part of Andrew's team that night did he find out how isolated Andrew had kept his team. For the most part since contact was reached Joy had spoken to Andrew for fear that Andrew would bury his head in the sand and go ghost on them. Bobby speaks to Andrew by the end of their short call Andrew agreed to send word to the agent inside the house that was sharing the feed with him. The name and the handle in the picture of their correspondence didn't match any names in their agency even the dark ones but it was clear that whoever Niles is, he was deep undercover. When Andrew described first contact it was clear to Bobby that Niles was trained at a government faciality.

Salvatore drove and tried to figure out who had one-upped him and when. Joey sat in the passenger seat and says, "You might want to give that signal now, we are 20 yards from that entrance." Salvatore hits his lights once, and all hell breaks loose as he rammed the med truck through the gate at an angle that knocked it out both brick posts. Men in army fatigue tried to take on the gunmen on the ground, that were covering the med truck. Joey radios his team and tells them to keep the den in their place. He gets a message and tells Sal to drive to the back of the house. His snipers would keep the den from entering the house.

Inside the room Dr. Sheldon holds out his hand and says to Joshua "Okay son take my hand and I'll help you to your feet. I need to look at your back so all you have to do is stand and I'll help you lay on the table." Joshua says he didn't want Sheldon pulling on his heavy ass and hurting himself. Lucas stood to the side. Joshua pulled himself up to a standing position. The instant pain increase made him dizzy and the breathless weighted feeling that had been subsiding came back stronger than ever. Dr. Sheldon was speaking to him he knew something was wrong when the doctor's voice sounded too far away. His knees buckled, and then suddenly, he felt nothing as his world faded to black.

"Joshua!" Dr. Sheldon caught Joshua and at least slowed down his decent. As he is kneeling at Joshua's side Alex charged into the room and reached for Joshua asking what he had done to his kid. Dr. Sheldon snapped, "I didn't do anything to my patient." Alex looks at him for a time and then pushes him away from where he'd intentionally positioned himself in front of Joshua. When Alex grabbed Joshua intent on slapping him. Dr. Sheldon launched himself at Alex and punched him knocking Alex to the floor. "Leave him alone damnit."

Alex pulls his gun; the doctor raised his hands out in front of him. Alex says, "The next time you hit me, will be your last." The door opens, and Niles comes in gun drawn but not at the doc, but at him. Without taking his eyes off the doctor Alex says, "Niles if you shoot me, my boss will hunt and gut you." when Niles spoke Alex looked at him because the person standing less than three feet away from where he sat, sounded way different than the guy had 5 minutes ago in the hall. Gone was the partial southern drawl and the kind of dumb follower persona.

"Mr. Knight that would be unfortunate, too bad for you there are more eyes on the screen than you think, lower your weapon, put it on the floor, first and final warning." Alex lowers his weapon and puts it on the floor. Niles walks over and kicks the gun away from Alex's reach. "Put both hands on your head." Alex complies to the demand and says he could get them all out of here and if Niles needed cash, he was flush with it. The doctor whose expression of fear hadn't changed from when he had pointed the gun at his head. Said he'd do whatever Alex wanted if he didn't kill him or his patient.

Alex speaks, "Sheldon I don't know what his deal is, but I just got a text from my partner. Look right now my team is outside in a med truck help me get my boy in, and if you do what you were brought here to do, I'll spare you. I know where you live so if you or my son tell the cops about this, I'll blow up your house and will make sure you, and your wife, are never found. See Niles, you were worried about me just killing some doctor I just met. If that is your sore spot, I fixed it. After I get what I want they return home, and I have insurance that they won't snitch, problem solved." The doctor looks from him back at Niles with his hands still in the air. "Niles, I meant it about getting you more money. If Deon is making you do this, just say the word."

Lucas asks Deon's man. "Mr. Niles may I check on my patient, you know what's in the safety kit and that I'm an no threat to you?" Niles says yes. Lucas turns around and kneels near Joshua who was still unconscious. The heat coming off the young man told him a lot and whatever they did they were going to have to get him real help soon. Reaching in the kit he cracks a plastic tube on the floor and put is on Joshua's forehead. He unbuttons the shirt and was even more alarmed. He'd seen the blood on the back of the shirt but had not been able to get a look at his front from how he'd been forced to sit. Niles asked what happened. "I don't have a lot of information, but we have to get him help. No matter who either of you work for, if your agenda includes keeping this young man alive no matter your time window or what for, he needs a lot more help than even I can offer him with no equipment." Alex gets a call. Niles walks over and takes the phone out of his pocket, putting it to his ear. Alex speaks to Sal who also didn't sound like himself.

With the door open they could hear when the back door was rammed in and men started heading their way. The words "In here" said from his men, never sounded so good to Nikes. He grabs Alex puts a knee in his back, snatched a pair of the cuffs off the floor that had locked Davenport to the table, and clamps them on Alex. He gets a message on his phone from Andrew. He tells his men of a private security firm working with them and their mission. Niles sends back.

NK: Thanks, I know of his work.

As Niles gets to his feet and pulls Alex up men aggressively come into the room. Niles says, "One injured, one ready for detainment." He points to Dr. Sheldon "he's with me. Did you detain the four in the kitchen?" An affirmative is given as he exits the room in front of Dr. Sheldon and watches as an older man and crew walk past with a gurney. Dr. Sheldon stops and looks at the man helping his son's friend onto the bed.

Joey feels eyes on him and looks up in time to see Lucas senior staring at him. "What you see is what you get doc." Lucas nodded curtly and walked out of the room behind "Niles" Joey had his notes on Niles and the name was a plant. A very good one but a plant none the less. He'd play along for now. "Niles, your boss?" Niles tells him where the bedroom was. "Armed or where you and his dough boys supposed to handle situations like us?"

As the old man pushes the gurney flanked by two people following them outside. Niles responds over his shoulder in the voice that was part of his cover. "He's armed with a doped-up female, the protection comes from our unit. It looks as if I was made to cooperate with law enforcement what's a guy to do?" When they reached the med truck. Niles sees Sal being taken from the driver's seat in handcuffs. He is then deposited in the back of a black windowless van. Joey has his men take Alex and put him inside the van as well. Another man that Niles knew walks pass him with one of his superiors, "Max?"

Maxwell Stalk Wolfe turned at his first name being spoken. The man they called Niles wasn't a stranger and he had no time for reunions. "Later we speak." He'd found out why part of his den was deployed without his knowledge and had promised an upper level dark agency head, that he would deal with his queen position of power which was his second in command Salvatore Fenny-Paradise, and his drug pawn, Alex Knight, internally. The dark agent had agreed, and Maxwell had changed the direction of the operation, and sent word to his den to fire exclusively upon Deon Valentine-Vargo's men to secure entry. Maxwell had offered to help the Vargo family leader on into the last goodnight but was told that position was filled. Maxwell and his den went to the van got in and drove off the property. Being woke at 4:30 this morning irritated Max being informed that his den would be detained if they interfered with the rescue of Chase Ivey's son, and best friend, drew a lot of pieces to an interesting puzzle together. He remained quiet as he watched his number one soldier and what was going to be his drug distributor. "Since I'd say you failed at whatever you were going to do. I'll give you both a time to answer my questions after I wake, until then you are to be put in a holding cell that you helped build Salvatore. I always did like your creative ways of torture."

Inside the hotel room Andrew paced, it had been two hours since he'd sent the last transmission. He hated being in the dark. Joy finally calls him "This is Andrew" Joy tells him to stay in the area and prepare to be picked up because they had a few people for him to see and listen to that could give them the man that supposedly held him at gun point. She hadn't misspoken, she still didn't fully believe him, even with all that he managed to give them. He understood but it still stung, but it stung less that a bullet from a STOP team. "Yes Captain, did they get them out of there ok? I lost signal." Joy confirms that she'd contacted the agent inside the house and cut Andrew's feed. She wasn't going to answer his question. "I'll be downstairs."

Inside the Med truck Niles drove as Joey and his team followed them. Lucas had informed them that they wouldn't be able to drive into the med truck bay of Sheldon Medical Center without prior approval. "Any way for you to get that?" Sheldon asked for his phone. Niles hands his cell to the doctor.

Lucas called his son. "Luke" the one word prompted a barrage of follow up questions from his son that he did not have time to answer right now. "I'm ok I need you to track the vehicle I'm inside with Joshua. He's unconscious and may have some internal injury. This Med truck has the Grandville Memorial emblem on the side, the truck number is Alpha, Foxtrot, 5032047. Yes, please clear us for entry into Underground Bay 5 if there is room. Have a team waiting. This truck is just a shell the equipment doesn't work." Lucas lapses into using medical jargon with his son. He points to the direction path for the truck. When they reach the window, they are waved in. "Thank you, son."

Joey and his men are not permitted entry in to the tunnel in their cars, so they turn around and head to public parking. Joey calls Chase "extraction complete. Will brief you further in person. We are here at Sheldon Med Center Grandville South." Chase says he must go but he will be there as soon as he can. "Willie, what we talked about I accept."

Chase sighs "I'll have the papers drawn up and inform all involved. Thank you, Joseph."

After getting Dr. Sheldon and Mr. Davenport to the hospital, Niles drove the Med truck back to the hideout. Looking at the clock in the dash which according to the doctor was the only "bloody thing" that worked in this dinosaur of medical moving equipment, it was 5am and time for the real fun to start. He'd sent in all video he was able to start transferring back dated video and taped conversations. The night of Mrs. Vargo's arrest he'd smoked with Deon and bugged his phone. Today during the extraction of the captives, he'd been told that Deon's room would be last after they tossed the rest of the house and secured the evidence needed to keep Mrs. Vargo and her husband Deon behind bars for a long time. The local police were getting a piece of this case since some of the crimes happened locally. His superiors were feeling quite generous. He got a call. As he parked, he gets out and is greeted with Deon yelling at him and crying. "Mr. Vargo I'm sorry they got the best of me what was I supposed to do?" Deon was holed up in his room and had taken the female Alice hostage. Which explained the sniper teams gathered on the roof of the building north of the house. Local was being led by a woman with long hair, that looked intense.

Earlier up at Ivey Mansion word travels via the medical system calling Sally as med contact, Cassandra as medical liaison two that Joshua Davenport is in serious condition at Sheldon Medical Grandville South Center and asked for permission to treat. The call clicks off before they can answer. Over at Bobby's house Angel answers her phone listens to the recording listing her as Joshua Davenport's medial liaison one and answers "Yes, please admit." She tears out of her room into Joy who was coming down the hall towards her. Catching Joy before she did a back-flip Angel steadies them both and speaks rapidly telling Joy that Joshua was at the hospital and could she please take her. Joy tells her that was why she was coming. Bobby comes out of his home office and he and Joy argue about if he can go or not. He says he was going whether she drove them, or he ordered an Ivey Transit. Joy conceded and said fine. As they exit the house, they see Rapture's huge vehicle speed down the hill towards the highway. Angel calls her father and tells him, Jonathon says Gloria and he were on their way. Angel hangs up and calls Sally who told her that the system called but clicked off before they could answer. "I answered, that's what may have cut your calls short." Hanging up with Sally, she calls Sophie who told her that she knew that Joshua and her father in law were at the very least out of captivity. "The last part of video I saw Dr. Sheldon looked unharmed but that was hours ago. Even hours ago, Joshua didn't look good, he is now in serious condition, Sophie I'm so afraid." They arrive and are shown to a waiting room. Joy then left saying this wasn't over.

When Luke called her earlier, Sophie had volunteered to stay home and watch JC, the twins, Nikki, and Janet she was also going to be fielding calls that came in. Chase and Amy along with Paula and even Mark who had showed up some time in the night were heading to the hospital. She hated hearing the fear in her sister's voice and says "Angel he's going to be ok, you are going to be ok I'm proud of you, you have been super strong for the both of you. I just need you to keep it up a little longer sis. I'll be here with JC and the kids, call me whenever you need to ok." Angel says ok. "I don't know when he got here last night but Mark is heading up there too. I have to get off here Ella doesn't know yet." Angel says for her to please go tell her. "Yeah, I think we need to have a talk anyway, but I'll tell you more about that later." As Sophie ended their call, Frank called her. "Yes Frank." He says since they were still in lockdown that Candy and Bradley's access card wouldn't work, and they were now at the gate. "No, it's not because of the lockdown, I flagged their access temporarily. Hand her the phone. Hello Candy, Angel, isn't here, Joshua and my father in law are not being held captive any longer." Candy says she couldn't believe that Angel wouldn't let her know something like this and asked to speak to Joshua. Frustration licked Sophie's tone. "Candy you are not to repeat this. Joshua is in the hospital." Candy says the system didn't call her. Not wanting to hear her or Bradley's why me shit, Sophie continues. "Angel is scared and stressed out enough, don't start this shit and make it about you, because, news flash it's not about you." Frank comes back on the line and says that Candy handed him the phone back and they pulled off. "Okay."

Chase sat next to Bobby who sat next to Angel who was writing something on a tablet she'd bought at the gift shop. Mark walks over and sits next to her. "What are you writing little one?" She looked up and for once her curtain of red hair unveiled the tear streaked face of his cousin. She said she was writing a song and then looked back down at her work. Paula came over and handed him a coffee. She says to Angel that they didn't have espresso, but they did have a mocha. Angel took the cup and thanks her then sat it down on the table. Mark put his arm around his cousin and pulled her towards him. "He's as stubborn as you are, he'll be fine." Angel just nodded but didn't look back at him. She mumbles something. Mark leaned in and asked what she said. She told him that he didn't hear the stuff Josh said before he passed out. "You want to talk about it?" She says no and turned from him and laid on Bobby. Mark gets up and walked across the room where Jonathon was sitting with Gloria. The divide was evident, Gloria was the reason they were sitting over here. When they arrived, it was like everyone prepared to move if she sat next to them. Angel had even stated that she'd agreed to work with Gloria, but this was personal. His uncle looked like a tennis ball there for a minute, bouncing from one side of the room to the other. When he walked over Gloria looked up at him and prepared to move, he wanted to sit next to Jonathon but waved her back down. "Uncle Jonathon, can I have a word with you in the hall?" He lifted his gaze from his phone and said sure as he rose. Gloria walked out and said she was going to go grab something to eat. Amy said she'd go with her.

Rapture sat talking to Sally and Cass. "Have you heard from Bradley?" Sally curtly shakes her head at him. "Look Mrs. Davenport I don't agree with what he said but he deserves to know so he can stop driving around town like a pig chasing his tail." Sally says it wasn't up to her, nothing was up to her. Rapture gets up and says he was going to go call Bradley. That earned him grumbles from the other side of the small room. "Look, you all are at the very least are here. Don't he deserve to know what is going on or at least that his little brother is no longer Deon's captive?" Bobby says Bradley deserved a fat lip. Cassandra says her brother was a hot head and got his information wrong and felt horrible about what he said to Angel. Sally tells them to please hush. She'd just got a text from Bradley that said he knew Joshua was in the hospital.

Bobby raises his voice at Sally and says, "You must be talking to them because telling me to shut up isn't a good plan right now ma'am." Chase tells Bobby not to cause a scene, the last thing they needed was a war of words attracting reporter sharks. Cassandra says she resembled that remark and had kept a lid on Joshua's location. Chase says he was glad then speaks to Bobby again saying Joy was going to be fine she was trained and had an entire team with her. "I know It's just that I wish I could do more..."

"Bobby, you are injured, you were winded just getting to that chair. I know it's not what you want to hear but son you would be more of a distraction than my newest future daughter would be able to deal with." Bobby looks over at his dad and says he knew he just had a lot going on in his head right now. Chase gets to his feet "I'm going for a walk."

Joy drove up to the house that had held her brother for 2 fucking days and gets out. Deon's house men were in custody in her patty wagon. The ones that were guarding this big dark monstrosity were either dead or sent to the med center in Grandville North. She didn't want any of them near her little brother. Schooling her face, she looks in the mirror and made sure she'd reapplied her makeup. One of the hardest things she tried to do, was keep her business and personal life separate, sometimes they merged and that made it harder for her to stay detached. It was hard for her not to just stay up at the hospital, driving away, she had to keep telling her self that the job wasn't done. This address was a Grandville South address because of Mayor Jackson's previous year redistricting of the border, she was leading this and would finish it. When the med truck pulled up her men paid little to no attention to it. She'd briefed her team on what had went down before they arrived. The man was 6'4 with dark curly hair in a messy man bun. He had grey eyes in an open face that got out in the sun a lot. He was on the phone was apparently talking to Deon. Joy walks over and holds out her hand. The guy gave her a look she was used to getting and says, "Now that you are finished coming to grips with the fact that I'm not a 6-foot-tall man, hand me the phone please." The man hands her his phone and says he just figured she be taller and wider with a name like Wildflower. "Well with a name like Niles I thought of you as butler type like from that show "The Nanny" So see we both made wrong assumptions based on names. Hello Mr. Baza. Oh, that is right I'm not sorry, Hello Mr. Vargo. I understand that you have another captive with you. You know the drill show me proof of life, or I send a good 15-man team in after you."

Deon was nervous he'd seen the sunlight glint off something and kept away from his window. Alice was freaking out as he ordered her to stay away from the window. "How do you want to play this Joy? You have what you want. Joshua isn't here. You took my team out. I'm impressed, not really, Andrew is going to be so pissed when he finds out his new boss, that would be me, has been detained. I'm sure he's come to his senses by now and knows that I am his best chance at more money than he can count, now that I got him fired. I heard on the news that before he died one of my best men missed the kill shot on Chase due to some impressive work from his close protection agent taking him down. You do know if Bobby was the target, he would be dead now right? If only I had given the order instead of letting Ben go with Mayor Jackson's plan, Ben would've gone for a head shot on Bobby then blew away poppa? How is Bobby?" He'd shaken her he could hear it in her voice as she demanded he show her proof of life. He tells Alice to say cheese and takes a short video of her waving at him. "Are you happy now?" She asks what it is he wants. "Here are my demands. I want a limo driven by my man Andrew. I will trade the woman for Niles or you can come in alone. I'd love to send you to Commander Hawk and the Davenport family in postal boxes." Joy asked was that his attempt at threatening a police officer. "Oh no of course not. Joy, you know how this goes. I'm rather comfortable, I can do this all day. I hear the press have been alerted. I wonder by who. Looking to make a big splashy arrest Captain? I do have an indoor pool. Come on, trade yourself, feel like a hero for once." Deon then pushes end.

Joy's men were watching her. She looks at Niles and he asks what she needed. She takes out her ear piece. Between her men speaking and Deon's words she was going to lose it soon. Niles hands her a pair of aviator sunglasses, she puts them on. He then pulls another pair and put them on himself. "He wants Andrew to drive him. He wants to trade me or you for the woman that seems to be happy to be playing along with him, until he loses his shit and kills her."

Niles looks up at the house. If he screws this up he'd never get back to his desk. "Let me make a call. Not on that phone. I have an extra." He pulls a phone that was in his back pocket and turns away from her. His call to his boss was disconnected before he could ask. He was hoping for such a signal. He'd get a slap on the wrist for what he was about to do but it would be lifted. Unless he failed then he'd die. "Captain Wildflower go home. My agency is tired of watching this and unless you want to explain a lot of deaths leave. My outfit was controlling this op before it was contaminated by local law enforcement in the first place. She looked at him with his sunglasses on and her mouth cut in to a firm line. She tells him to fall back, and points to her car. She touches his chest giving him a shove. Figuring she was fishing for something he steps back takes off his glasses and covers her hand that she had on his chest as he glares at her. "Have you lost your mind?" She halted he whispered, "Don't pause, whatever you were thinking short of shooting me I can handle, I'm big boy, Captain." He wasn't expecting her to judo toss his ass on the ground. Regaining his breath, he waits a beat as she gets in his face and starts telling him her plan. He didn't have to fake outrage. He mutters "do you trust him that much?" She nods and says If she failed, her career was over anyway. Her chief had told her this, on her way over here. She'd told him that if she couldn't end this today, she'd give him her badge and weapon wrapped in a bow. Her chief wasn't a part of the dirty cop clan, far from it, he was old school and had this way of making her accomplishments look small compared to all her fellow male captains. She'd been promoted before Chief Patterson got the job of chief, and he'd tried intimidation, he tried getting her fired. The cases that Bobby had given her credit for assisting with recently, had made Patterson stop trying to get her demoted because he was a kiss ass and loved sniffing the commissioner's ass. She tells Niles that she trusted Andrew just one inch more than she trusted walking into that house. Niles makes an ouch face. She fought to keep the smile from her own face. He reminded her of Bobby. Only not really because she didn't know this man or even his real name. She tries to hand him her gun, he moves his hand and says "Mine's better and concealed already. You going to let me up Captain? I think whoever you were trying to impress is impressed, as they should be." She mouths don't pause. She then pulls him to his feet. When she called Andrew, while waiting for him to answer she looked up at one of her men she puts her earpiece back in "Don't take it if you don't have a kill shot Greene, he is unstable both mentally and physically if you don't take him down, he'll kill her." Greene slid back away from the ledge of the building that faced Deon's bedroom window.

Gloria sits in the café and drinks her tea. She was surprised that Amy, the woman that was attached to Angel's adoptive father Chase had offered to walk with her. Walking in and hearing Angel tell Jonathon that she would work with her at LEGNA or when it dealt with LEGNA business but when it was personal business she wanted nothing to do with her. She'd figured that Angel had started to like her, but John's girl had just been keeping her word Joshua had as well when she thought of the few interactions. She'd mistaken their polite professional tones and willingness to even come down to the 6th floor with her for lunch as a turning point. "I've tried so hard to make things right again. I thought we were making head way, gone were the same looks I received tonight from Angel. I had no clue that she and Joshua could turn it on and off at will. At work they were polite, and even came to my office without me having to send for them. Angel showed me pictures of JC and Joshua even went to a last-minute photoshoot without an attitude. That should have been my clue. That man hated disorder." Amy says she is sure Joshua still hates disorder. "You are absolutely right. Listen at me going on like he's gone?"

Amy put her hand on Gloria's on the table. "Take it from someone that they had to warm up to. It takes time. I don't work with Angel or Joshua I am merely their father's mate, but I have been on her and her sibling's mate's suspect page. It's harder from my position because I wasn't allowed a workplace ice breaker of sort. I commend you for coming at all. First please, I know it's a slip of the tongue, but can you not refer to Joshua as if he is gone. I believe he will be fine, I have to, or I'll lose it again." Amy firms her lips then continues. "You are here in support of your mate in a moment when he wants to share the burden of worry but seems to reject it because of the way you are perceived here."

Gloria says she didn't mean it like that. She speaks about the obvious elephant in the room when it came to Angel and Joshua. "It's not perception, Amy we are not alike. You didn't invite the man that would end up doing all of this into their home. They both loathe me so much. I feel like a fool for even thinking for a second that they could grow to trust me again. We started off so strong. I can't undo any of what I did."

Amy says "Gloria, with everything that has been going on. Did you ever think that maybe Angel and Joshua emotionally couldn't afford to trust you right now? I don't think they loath you. I think especially right now Angel's emotional platform have been battered to the brim for two full days. I've had a taste or two of what she is going through and believe me it is not fun. You have no idea when the next time you will hold your lover, or whether your day will brighten. You hope and pray that all is going to be ok it is all that keeps you from shattering into a pile on the floor. I'm not saying it will never happen but somewhere along the way you lost their trust." Gloria grumbles that Angel was supposed to be the more forgiving of the two. "I think Angel has tried for a long time to please people into not feeling bad about their bad choices. From some of what Chase has shared with me she does trust hard and more than most people, but if you break it that voids even the nicest person's cycle of trust. It makes them examine whether trusting you is worth being hurt again. Trust is a fragile thing. Easy to break, easy to lose and one of the hardest things to ever get back. Now, is not the time to make this about you. Be there for your mate, do your job at your company and just don't try to push them or they never will come around." Amy stands "I think I'm going to go follow some of that advice myself, I came down here because I was losing it. I am going back in there, find my own mate, and be whatever he needs right now."

Over at Ivey Mansion Sophie was putting a sleeping JC down in the portable crib she'd set up in her room. Janet texted her.

Janet: Um Sophie Nikki is watching the twins may I come in, please?

Considering Sophie hadn't heard from Luke yet, she needed a distraction that didn't involve children's lullabies.

Sophie: Sure

Janet walks in and they head to the other side of the huge 60 by 80-foot room. Janet sits on her couch and tucks her hands under her. "I kind of think I was making Angel mad by asking this, but have you heard anything?" Sophie says not yet. "Oh." Janet looks back the carpet as she ran her toes through the thick fibers. "Um Sophie, I have a boyfriend thing, and I really would feel weird asking dad. I mean Nikki says she doesn't see why I'm kind of freaking out about this."

Sophie pulls up her makeup chair sits at her vanity as she brushes her hair. "Oh, do tell." Janet asked could she brush Sophie's hair. Sophie froze and considered it. She usually didn't let untrained people with the exclusion of her husband near her hair. Since Janet's had grown back she was good with keeping her own hair healthy and there were no chemicals involved so Sophie says "ok," Janet gets up and stands behind her running the brush through her hair.

As Janet is brushing, she says. "Sophie, I am scared to meet his parents." Sophie looked at her in the mirror. "Not Tracy, but his other parents he wants them to meet me. They aren't like Tracy you know she's cool, like you, Angel, and Candy. His other parents are super strict. Do you know he has to be off his cell phone at 10 pm? I mean he doesn't even go to school. Like now, he's home and his dad has him help him fix on the cars. They are now pressuring him to go to a school building. He's homeschooled, it works for him. He's got in trouble for doing all his assignments for an entire semester in the three days he was grounded. I go to school but it's not a regular high school. What if they don't like me?" Janet hands her back her brush, and sits on the floor, with her chin resting on her knees. "Or what if they ground him for liking me and then stops him from coming to Grandville South, then not only will he not like me anymore, but Tracy will hate me too." Janet gets up shakes her hands putting them in her hair. She starts pacing. "I can't do this, but then he'll ask why not, or worst he wouldn't say anything else to me about it. I have noticed that he just stops talking, then when I ask him what he was about to say, he says something like no because I'm not trying mess this up. The problem is, I don't know what he'd be about to say so then get I quiet too because I don't want to mess us up either. How did you get Mrs. Ella to like you?"

Sophie watches Janet's nervous energy come off her in waves. It never seemed to stop amazing her at how much this little girl reminded her of Angel when she was 17, and Sophie was 12. The closer Angel got to her 18th birthday the more she planned and plotted to get the hell out of Grandville. Many nights Angel sat on her floor chattering about this contest and this college. Back then Sophie had mostly kept her true want for her sister not to leave to herself, because even at 13 she understood the real reason Angel was leaving, it had nothing really to do with education or music. When she'd been about to move to D.C. for college, she remembered their conversation Angel had told her that Sophie not telling her how she felt kind of made her think sometimes that their mother had got to her. Sophie had got mad and told her how she felt back then, that conversation sitting in Angel's condo had been one hell of a bonding moment for them. Some of these things that she'd kept quiet about reminded her of the part of the conversation that was taking place before her right now. "Janet, the not talking about what you think will upset each other isn't good. If it makes you nervous, you'd rather not hide things that could later manifest into something more hurtful to your relationship. It's lying though not proactively but omission of your true feelings which is kind of hiding a part of who you really are. It becomes a difficult race that no one wins, because the things you love about each other are just parts of your personalities and anything that you think maybe a problem will come back and bite you if not dealt with. As for his parents liking you. He likes you and they really couldn't ask for a better girl for their son to like. You're smart, respectful, funny, and are not a trouble maker. I just hope if I have a son, that he gets someone like you. So tomorrow before 10 pm, call, or vid chat, your boyfriend and talk to him, tell him how you feel. Oh, and please stop thinking that them not liking you for whatever reason is going to bring down some chain reaction that ends in him being held in Houston and Tracey being mad at you. Your mind is working overtime filling with scenarios that are based on nothing but fear. Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying to be your best self you both deserve each other's best."

Over at Deon's hideout, Joy called Andrew and waited from him to show up. She looked at her phone for the hundredth time. Niles puts his hand on her hand pushing the phone back down and tells her to stop pacing she looked nervous. "Nervous don't even come close but thanks. You are the one that is going in there, aren't you nervous?"

He drops his already deep tenor a few octaves and brushes baritone slightly as he says, "Never admit what is obvious, it doesn't change the outcome." Andrew pulls up and is kind of shocked to see them standing behind the med truck. "Don't worry Agent she can kick my butt. That's not my type. I want a little woman to think I'm a bad ass with a good job not be ready to clobber my ass when I come home without milk for her coffee." Joy playfully jumps at him Niles stepped back "Oh no you stay away from me I don't like the ground that much. All kidding aside, Captain you want to tell him what the plan is?" Joy explains what is to happen. Andrew looks at the house, Niles, then back at Joy."

Andrew gets in the limo left by Ivey Transit. Joy had asked for one of the older models. Sophie told her not to worry about messing up the one she was sending, it would have to come off the road in a few months because of its year anyway. Joy was relieved and thanked her sis. Taking a moment, she takes a breath and says "Ok guys let's get this going." She looked at the cell phone that she'd taken from Niles closing her eyes she calls Deon. "Okay Deon we are ready, first Niles is going to come to the door, and you are going to send the female down and out of the front door before he is allowed to enter."

Alice had slipped out of the room and came back with some drugs that they shared while waiting for Joy to make the next move. Deon smiled his biggest smile as he spoke into the phone. "Well okay if that is what you want. I thought you were working up the nerve to come in and trade yourself. But Niles is more valuable than a lady cop anyway. He used to work for the government you know. He'd been unfortunate enough to arrest my wife's father Mr. Valentine for embezzlement. Then after who would have been my father in law died in a prison fight, my heartbroken wife ordered her men to take Niles out, they missed and shot his pregnant wife in his driveway. Niles's went rouge, and never showed up to his debriefing. He never did find out how he got exposed, it confuses him to this day. My wife offered him a place to call home, to lick his wounds, and fight back, against the government that wouldn't even let him on the mission that became a closed cold case. Don't tell him it will be our little secret." Deon laughs loud and hard. "I do hope you are better at keeping secrets than Angel. Ask her what secret she was supposed to keep but gave away and nearly got me my… and her best friend killed? Ah here comes my number one soldier now. Captain cheer up you look like you aren't feeling well."

Joy wanted to shout for Niles to stop and order Greene to take the fucking shot. She was so far in over her head. What the fuck was she thinking? This wasn't just Deon the goofy looking bass player that fucked up, this was a different person a person that would marry a person that would kill a pregnant woman because she could have it done. He was married to the mob. Fear made her nauseous at the thought of his wife getting out or hell sending word from inside to deal with her or Bobby for closing them down. She hears a voice in her ear. "Trade is made she's walking out now. Hey Deon thanks for getting me back." It was Niles talking to her in her ear piece attached to the bug she had put on his phone.

Alice walked out towards her and tripped over her own feet. Joy ran to her fearing she had been drugged or something. Andrew got out of the limo she looked back at him and in that instant her life changed forever as she saw Andrew running towards her. She raised her gun and yelled from him not to approach her. He yells something. He's shot by one of her men and goes down, that's when she feels the knife slice into her. She looked down at Alice who had stabbed her. Joy started shaking and fell over. As she is passing out Alice says they wouldn't need her anymore. Her men rush towards her, Alice put her knife under Joy's throat and Joy's world faded to black.

A shot rings out and Alice is hit with such force that her body flies backward away from their downed Captain. When Niles was walking out to the limo one look at Captain Joy Wildflower laying in a growing pool of her own blood gave him a vicious flashback of the day he failed his mate. Memory and the present collided as he rounded on Deon shot him in the head three times. Then charged towards Joy. What he screamed as he crumpled to the ground ripping at her shirt and crying was "Come on Mary Lynn please, please, please not again." Sirens can be heard that was what changed his mental picture into the present as he is pulled off the captain by his superior.

Andrew was lucky he'd been wearing Ivey Armor. When he saw the knife, he ran towards a cop that didn't trust him. The shot put him on his back he was then made to watch her get stabbed by the bitch that they were trying to save. Andrew had called Bobby "She's down Bobby she got stabbed by Alice the former keyboardist of AI. Med crew is on the way I tried to warn her Bobby she was too far away for me to do anything." Then he heard the voice that had spoken in his ear with a gun in his back. The guy that was pulling Niles off Joy, he was the guy that was in the club. The dark agency leader Niles's boss was working for Alex or Deon. They'd all been played. As he tries to tell Bobby what he just discovered Bobby went off on him, telling him he'd better hope that he never found him. "Field Commander Hawk- Ivey, I know who the guy was that had the gun at my back in the club," Bobby yells fuck his title fuck this job and that the guy should have fucking shot Andrew, not stabbed the mother of his child and hung up. Andrew froze "Joy is pregnant? Oh shit."

**Author's Note:** Well that's one way of telling the world he was going to be a father. Thanks for reading, please if there is any comments questions concerns or anything, I must clarify please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment**. :End Note**


	3. On your Knees Praying

Chapter Three On your Knees Praying

Niles relaxed just long enough to make his superior think he'd calmed. The man let him go and he turns around and hugged his commander just as he had when this shit happened 5 years ago. Something clicked into place his commander was on scene within seconds of his wife being killed in his driveway. His commander didn't live near him, he was also at that office building when he'd arrested Mr. Eric Valentine. Niles took his gun out and put it just below his commander's vest. "You need to start walking backwards. We are going for a ride." He sees Andrew moving. "Stark please take my guest of honor here to the limo." The minute Andrew takes his boss Niles gets back down on the ground with Captain Wildflower. She was breathing and still bleeding. He took off his jacket and tried to cover where he ripped her damn shirt down the middle, soon the med crew pushes him out of the way lead by a female. With the name Kincaid plastered across her shirt front and the Sheldon Med emblem on her back.

Stark gets to his feet, cuffed the dark agency commander, and guides him to the limo. When he gets the door open the guy tried a last-ditch effort offering more money. Andrew was so tired of people thinking that he got into this line of work for the money. He says, "really tell me more about the product" and then slams the guy's head in to top of the doorway of the car. Then shoved his now limp form inside and slammed the door. The police chief car rolled up, and a man that was shorter than Joshua jumped out of the car and started yelling at the officers. When he approached the stretcher, he looked at Joy, took her gun and walked away. "Hey chief" The guy flipped him off, got back in his clown car, and sped off.

Back at the hospital, Bobby got the call from Andrew and he'd lost it. After going off on Andrew and hanging up he felt like a hot air balloon like his head wasn't attached to his body. He'd felt this sensation before two other times, the night his birth father killed his birth mother 38 years ago he'd came back to his 8-year-old self, lost and afraid as strangers asked him questions as he'd fought to get away from them. Then again at 28 after hearing that Nana was dead and him suspecting what would end up being the truth that Sophia had killed her. He'd woke in rehab after smashing his car in to the water fountain. Both times he woke up after actions that weren't in his usual character his body had been moving but his mind wasn't along for the ride. His therapist had said he'd experienced Psychogenic Amnesia or a trauma blackout. It was only after years of therapy he was able to piece most of what happen together. He tried to breathe, but all that filled his mental balloon is Andrew's first words to him "Bobby she's down."

The others in the room tried to speak to Bobby who'd yelled into his phone and ended the call he stood swayed and said, "She's down." Chase had read the reports but had never seen his son like this. "Bobby talk to me son." Angel had gone further to the back of the room. Bobby was scaring the shit out of her. Chase stood and told Bobby in a firm tone to please talk to him. Bobby pushed Chase into Joey who had stood. Bobby kept saying she's down. Chase put out a hand telling Joey it was like before. Joey nodded. Bobby turned around looking for something. Chase called him Robert and that was totally the wrong thing to say. Bobby ran towards the door. Mark took him down before he went wild punching and kicking to be let free. He was saying shit that didn't make sense. When he switched into a small child's voice screaming for his mother to wake up. It ripped Chase's heart in two. It was one thing to read the report from the hospital the night Bobby's mother was murdered it was an even more surreal and saddening experience to hear what his son had probably screamed at the officers that found him hiding in Chase's unfinished mailroom at what is now the site of Ivey Solutions Glenview ten rainy blocks from where Bobby had once lived.

Flashback

Many years ago, a 24-year-old Chase walked into his newest building in a small town named Glenview and is met by his office assistant Nora Arrowood-Hawk, Bobby had her warm olive complexion. They had become fast friends even at her interview, now 2 years later he'd been happy that he'd took a chance as she said in her interview and hired the hard working, lighthearted, down to earth and proud mother of an eight-year-old boy named Robert. She'd invited Chase to Robert's birthday dinner that night. He thought about it and said he would think it over and get back to her. Chase still hated that he'd been distracted when he came in the office most days, that day especially because it would be the last day he'd see her alive. She handed him coffee and his messages. Some were from his mom and some were business. "Thanks" he says not really noticing the bruise on her face but that wouldn't be until lunch time. He'd went into his office and made his calls and went about his day. Nora knocked and told him his lunch delivery had arrived. He'd ordered enough for the entire office. When she walked in, he'd looked up and paused. He'd just been a part of a team of five lawyers that had wrapped a nasty domestic violence case just a week prior. Those images still disturbed him when he saw the start of a bruise on his employee's face, he rose and walked over to her moving her long dark brown hair to the side. "Who?" She'd flinched when he spoke. Thinking he'd touched the bruise he dropped his hand to his side. "Nora, look at me." when she looked up, she tried to smile but it vanished and was replaced by an anxiousness in her gaze. "Did your husband do this?" She lied to his face and told him no she'd fell out of bed and hit the night stand. Chase clenched and unclenched his jaw then crossed his arms over his chest. He went into, what Sophie called lawyer mode and asked about the fall he questioned her like she's on the stand, until she broke down crying for him please not to fire her because she knew of drug use and didn't say anything. "I'm not going to fire you, if you're on drugs we can get you help, but I don't think that is what is going on? Talk to me please." He handed her his handkerchief. She sat down in the chair, wiped her face, looked up at him, and told him Warren had started doing drugs and the drinking and that the drinking was the hardest to deal with because it made him hurt them. "Wait where is Robert? Did he hurt him too?" She shook her head and told him how Warren had chased after Robert for talking back and how her boy had dived under his bed crying. She said when she'd foolishly pulled Warren's arm, so he wouldn't flip the bed and beat on their son, her tugging on his arm made him accidently hit her in the face, and that the shock of his actions made Warren promise he wouldn't get that trashed anymore and had cried that she couldn't tell Chase about the drugs because he'd fire her, and they'd be out in the street by next month. "Like I said you're not fired. Is that why you asked if I wanted to come to the birthday party? I'd be glad to come and talk to him and see if we can get him in a program before his job cans him." He'd been doing so good with keeping his temper out of his voice, but Queens, New York wasn't just his birthplace when he was extremely angry it came out of his mouth. She'd got up and told him no. That she'd invited him because Robert wanted him at his party. She then said last night was long and stressful and that it was just an accident and maybe she'd let her emotions run high and was thinking about all this the wrong way. Nora asked him to pray with her. He wasn't above prayer, so he got on his knees next to her and prayed with her there in his office. They got up, ate lunch, and went back to work. It wasn't his place to get involved at the end of the day he was her boss, they were friends, but he didn't want to give the guy anything else to hit her for. Chase remembered the rain that night as he put on his coat and walked out of his office Nora asked to use one of his trash bags as a hair bonnet. Chase had smirked and said, "We have an awning." She then told him that she was walking tonight because Warren was in a mood because he had to go pick up Robert for school early. Chase looked out at the downpour. He'd insisted instead of wrapping plastic around her head, his driver give her a ride home. She thanked him and got in the limo as they rode up to her home, she thanks him again. "No sweat; save me some cake will ya?" She nodded and got out. His last image of Nora Arrowwood- Hawk was of her walking back into the house that held her killer. That night he went home had dinner with his mother at Ivey Mansion and went to bed. The next day, it'd been raining just as hard as the night before. He called to ask if she needed a ride. Mr. Warren Hawk said there had been an accident that she slipped and fell and hit her head? Chase hadn't believed him and asked were they at the hospital. Hawk's drunken belch, and answer of no, was alarming Warren asking had Chase seen his little boy made Chase run from his office leaving the man's question unanswered and his phone on the desk. He got in his limo and was soon back outside of the Hawk household. He walked in and there on the floor lay his employee and friend she was clearly dead. He was horrified to see birthday cake mixed with the blood coming out of her mouth, all over her face, and in her hair. Chase's legal brain kicked in he'd just walked in, the door was open. Looking around he caught movement right before blocking the pan that was swung at his head. After realizing who it was, Chase lost it and beat the living hell out of Warren who was 6'6 to his 6'2 and who out weighted him by a solid 120 pounds. His driver Frank had to separate them. Warren yelled that he didn't do it. Chase couldn't prove it, but that's what Warren said to the police when they came. Battered and bruised Chase didn't want to go home and scare his mother he had Frank take him back to his office building in Glenview. That's when he found Bobby fighting the police in his unfinished mailroom.

End of Flashback

As Bobby stops yelling and continued trying to get away though Mark wasn't actively trying to fight Bobby, he didn't know what the hell was going on and didn't know what would happen if he let him go. Dr. Lucas Sheldon Sr. gets on the floor making eyes contact with Mark and telling him to let him go. Mark looks to Chase who asked his friend was he sure that was wise.

Lucas remembered the tail end of an episode like this in his clinic. "Unless you want to fight him for as long as he is like this yes." Chase said with hesitation in his voice, for Mark to let him go. Lucas held out his hand he'd been the doctor on call that night Chase Ivey walked into his clinic in Glenview. That night a lie was told but for a very good reason. Chase walked in to his clinic with a child of about 8 and asked him to check him out. He and his cousin Dr. Eric Sheldon had looked at Chase and then at the little clearly Native American child. Lucas almost turned him away and Eric called him back into his office and said that it wasn't their job to play detective it was their job to fix the broken. Lucas was Bobby's first doctor within what would grow into the Sheldon Network. Calling him Robert was dangerous because there was a lot of pent up anger and pain to fuel the trauma responsive disorder. He starts speaking while watching Bobby's eyes as he stared at him. "Bobby Ivey, it is me Dr. Lucas Sheldon. Close your eyes Bobby." Bobby says his balloon is too full. "That is what I will help you with, if you will let me." He takes Bobby through an old exercise, letting his voice fall into a monotone as he spoke. He had Bobby stand up. Gloria starts to speak, Lucas without breaking eye contact, or his verbal pattern, he points at her, and then at the exit.

Bradley and Candy walked in and in that instant Bobby looked over at him and almost ran him over getting out of the room. Joey, Mark, Chase, Rapture, and Luke's dad goes after Bobby. Out in the hall it wasn't the doctor or the other four men in pursuit of him that stopped Bobby his phone speaks to him "Sheldon Medical Center switchboard calling" He stopped and looked at the screen and everyone around him no longer were in sight as his vison tunneled and he swiped to open the call putting it on speaker phone. "Hello."

The recording brought him back down, the balloon shrunk, and his vison returned to normal as the machine spoke to him. "This is the second attempt to reach a medical liaison or contact for Wildflower Joy Captain. Is this Robert Hawk-Ivey Medical Liaison 2?"

"Yes" Bobby wondered where the first call went? Who was L 1. The system said Joy's name and listed her condition as critical upon arrival and asked did he give permission to continue lifesaving techniques. "Yes" It thanks him, gave him the address of the building he was standing in, and says goodbye. Looking around after the balloon lifted, he had trouble figuring out why the guys were standing around him. He remembered yelling at Andrew. Looking at Chase he got scared it had been a long time since he'd blacked out but since he couldn't remember leaving the waiting room it must have happened. He looked over at Mark who had a shiner and his shirt ripped to shit. "I… I'm sorry." Lucas Sr. asked what for, Bobby thought about it, that was the hardest part about this condition he didn't know how he got out here. Looking around he asked his dad. "Chase how did I get out here in the hall?" his dad told him. The last time Chase had seen any part of his condition he was a kid. Chase was out of town when Bobby found out about Nana and tried to run down Sophia. The drugs and booze he'd ingested that week and even that day weren't the problem. The substance abuse kind of saved the people in the park that day, because the shit slowed his reflexes. If he had of been sober someone could have been killed. When Chase showed up at the rehab center and broke down crying that he didn't want to lose his son so close after losing his mother it had hit Bobby harder than any AA or addict session ever did. Bobby swallowed hard, today he'd pushed his dad, hell he could have hurt Mark. He was embarrassed and ashamed of his actions as he leaned against the wall. Running his hands through his hair he apologized again and walked down the hall to the other waiting area.

Chase walked with him after briefly speaking with Lucas then sending the guys back to sit with Angel to wait on word on Joshua. Bobby stopped before he enters the other waiting room. Turning to his father he says "I'm glad that was a private waiting room I could have hurt a perfect stranger. Or ended up on the fucking news. He looked up sharply "Oh shit Gloria was in the room you don't think she would?"

Chase speaks "No I don't believe she would post an article about your illness, not unless she likes career suicide. Speaking of which, Bobby, I have a question do you know who Joy's liaison one is, because Lucas says that the script only changes to that default when someone has answered no. Due to her condition being listed as critical the program overrides the negative repose and searches for a L2. If she'd been listed as serious the negative response would have stopped treatment. I know it's neither of us because Sophie is a med contact and Lucas says she only has four slots approved. If you are slot 2, Sophie is 3 and Angel is 4 who is number 1?"

Bobby thought about his original liaison 1 when Chase moved to Florida and before he met Joy and spoke slowly "Since she isn't married yet, someone from the department would be first liaison, her family really doesn't like her being a cop, but they wouldn't refuse her treatment. I don't like this dad. There is more going on than I first thought. Someone in that department that works alongside her said no."

Back in the other waiting room, Bradley looks at Jonathon who sat with Angel who looked freaked out. He walked over and says, "Angel I'm sorry." Angel looked behind him and rose. Bradley turned around and sees Dr. Middlebrooks. Angel, and all in the private waiting room converge on the doctor and ask in unison, how is he?

Sandra asks Angel into her office. Angel hugs herself as she sits. Sandra closes her door and skirts her desk and says, "We were able to stop the internal bleeding Joshua is not going to be able to be released for a time. He is concussed, has two broken ribs, circulation issues in his hands and feet that will be monitored to see if there is any permeant nerve damage. He has soft tissue damage to his fingers we had to cut his wedding ring off. We have him on a mild muscle relaxer and pain med to calm the spasms or twitching. We have him on fluids he was very dehydrated." Angel asks about his back. "When Dr. Lucas Sheldon Sr. filled out the "Art No Tell" he mentioned that Joshua had spoken of passing out in the cooler, we removed glass that had imbedded itself into his skin from his fall. We want to make sure that the swelling goes down around his collarbone. He is in a neck brace because of the whiplash evidence we did see on the scan. As for his face I'm not sure what he was hit with, but I am glad that Dr. Sheldon Sr. was able to clean him up without wiping any of the metallic particles that we found on the side of his face and in his hair into his eyes. No facial bone breakage, a lot of soft tissue damage, and swelling." Angel asked could she see him. Sandra asked did Angel want to tell the family or let her do it. Angel asked her to tell the family and to please let her see Joshua. "You know how he responds to medicine he is lethargic but awake. He's in room E4005."

As Angel exits her office into the back-hallway, Sandra walks out and informs the family about Joshua's condition and the fact that because of the rules in this area only one person was allowed in the room at a time. Gloria had returned in time to hear the doctor's words. She asked would he be able to play guitar. Bradley said he didn't think she should even be here. Sally covered his mouth. Cass told her big brother to shut it. Gloria says she was just trying to keep it professional as her talent had wished of her. Jonathon looked her way and she sat down and looked away from his hard gaze. Sally walked towards her. Mark pulled her away and asked her to please not make more of a scene he'd done enough refereeing tonight. The doctor excuses herself and carded her way into the back corridor. Joey suggested that they pick who was going in next. Jonathon says "I don't believe my girl is going to come back out tonight." For once Sally didn't go nuts she got up and told Bradley to please take her back to Ivey Mansion. Lucas asked could he get a ride as well. Bradley said sure and asked could he and the doc talk on the way. Sheldon said he didn't see why not.

As soon a Sandra sits down, she is paged to OR 2. Logging in she sees that she has maybe 2 hours before she must take her mandatory 90 minutes. She looked at Luke's and his was in the red heading to purple. When she reads the "Art No Tell" On one Joy Wildflower she charged out of her office. Scrubbing up and entering, she sees Luke and knew this was going to be hairy. They trade medical jargon and Luke manages to stop the bleeding. When Joy started convulsing, he glanced at the monitor and his words sped up and she assisted. She turned on another monitor. She now knew why he'd requested her, he needed to keep it together he came here shortly after his dad was reported missing. They manage to stop the convulsions and suction blood out of the damaged area. Joy was lucky that the person that stabbed her didn't have enough force to do any more damage than they did. Luke even with a face mask on and his trademark clear glasses she could see he was having a really hard time. "I'll finish up here doctor." He looked at her she looks back and raised her eyebrow. He nods, and she takes over. He walked out of the room. It was the hardest call she ever had to make it wasn't an easy task using her senior doctor status. He'd had the power to put a stop to her use of it but left the rule alone for times like this.

Luke walked out of the OR and into a decontamination shower. That was a lot of blood and some of it wasn't hers. Though she'd been stabbed there was gunpowder residue on her wound. The bitch had stabbed her in the spleen they'd had to remove part of it. A partial splenectomy wasn't a hard job for him but with her being newly pregnant made it very personal. When she'd started convulsing and her heart rate dropped his heart had nearly dropped into his socks. He'd worked on friends and family and pregnant family, but never when he was expecting a child. After taking a regular shower in his office's ensuite bathroom he finished, dressed, and called his wife.

Sophie answers and listens to Luke tell her about Joshua and then he went quiet. She knew he was still on the line because his breathing picked up. "Luke?"

"Sophie, I almost lost Joy." Sophie hadn't heard he spoke fighting back tears of relief when he'd got the text from Middlebrooks when he got out of the shower. "She came in and flat-lined on my operating table. She'd been stabbed and at first, I froze, I haven't frozen in a situation like that in a long time. I worked on her and got her stable for the second time in two hours. Middlebrook was able to join me. Sophie I was so afraid, after the second time I couldn't detach. Middlebrooks must have seen it, because she ejected me from the room." Sophie asked how Joy was now. "Middlebrooks closed, and Joy and baby survived." The shuttering sigh that came over the line made him say. "Sophie, I love you." She says she loves him. "I'm coming home tonight I'll order a transit I need to get out of here. After the day and night, I had, I just need to see you, touch you., to feel my wife laying on me as only she can." She said she'd already ordered his ride. "See you soon." As he is walking out of the hospital, he sees Police Chief Patterson who asks how his little lady was. Luke had a message from his father and one from Bobby that he hadn't looked at with everything that had being going on. After looking at the system and seeing Chief Patterson as her L1 that had said no, a muscle in his jaw twitched and he said in his best detached doctor tone "I'm sorry sir, I can't give you any information about Captain Wildflower, your negative response given when a patient is in critical condition ended your ability to secure information about her health." Luke's car arrived he got in "Goodnight Chief Patterson."

Chief Dylan Emanuel Patterson watches as the stretch Hummer limo drives away towards the older part of Grandville South. He noted the cameras facing the street and got back in his car. He had to find out if he'd have to take matters into his own hands or had a criminal cupid ended his love hate relationship with the female Captain of the Cyber Division. When he'd got the call that she'd got stabbed Dylan was nothing if not an opportunist. When he'd got called by her medical program asking him if he wanted them to start lifesaving procedures he answered no, and the thing hung up. His new pick for the Captain of the Cyber Division was a real man that wasn't as nosey. Joy was a little woman playing a man's game. She asked too many questions and had found his offshore accounts lucky they didn't require real names, or he would have been screwed out of more than the now seized money. She'd came in his office glowing and gloating about popping open a huge case and had gave him her report in that stiff unfeeling way of hers. While she, her boyfriend, and their teams, were tracking the Vargo money laundering case that wasn't even supposed to turn into a case. For years he'd kept everything funneling where it was supposed to be. Her and that damn team of hers were like bitches with a big meaty bone. He came in to power a few months shy of her getting promoted. If it were up to him, she would have been an officer in vice until she retired. That's where he'd met her. Almost 17 years ago. He'd saw her in here hooker apparel and wanted a chance at that. At 25 she was a stunner in short leather skirt and high heels. Back then he wasn't her boss, so it should have been fine. She'd told him she wasn't interested in anyone she worked with. That was a damn lie. The first time she moved up to detective she fell for a goddamned fed almost 6 years ago. He didn't much like sharing the spot light with federals. Especially one that was connected to the new mayor, Ivey had made it clear if his son wasn't found he would start firing people. He'd gave Joy the lead so when she flopped Ivey could start with her head rolling. Dylan called the hospital as he trailed the large car on the highway. They wouldn't answer his questions. He'd tried using his status as a concerned boss and leader in the law enforcement community but not one of those little meaningless medical drones would tell him shit. Seeing the Hummer limo turn off the highway he hit his siren and lights he was going to find out once and for all if that little cock tease with his career in her hands was alive or dead.

The chief badged his driver and ordered Luke out of the car. Luke gets out and looked down at the 5'5 man with the bad comb over. He says he was going to ask one more time what is the condition of his fucking officer. "Chief at this point I would be breaking the law that we are both…"

Chief Patterson said in an angry tone. "You want to play hard ball ok game on. You're under arrest." The doctor asked him what the charge was. "Endangering an officer, that officer was assaulted and needs protection." The doctor spouts some crap about abuse of the HIPAA laws. Patterson put his hand on his firearm and says, "Okay hot shot doctor, let's turn around and put your hands on my vehicle and spread'em." Chief Patterson cuffed the doctor and frisked him.

Luke watched as the man takes the contents of his pockets out and throws the remote to his car, and the keycards to the hospital, and his home system on the ground. His phone was taken off his belt. When the officer tried to open his screen, Luke closed his eyes. Fear licked at his mind. Joshua's attack had started as a routine traffic stop and escalated into a traumatizing event. Luke had never been arrested in his life. He asked for the chief's superior.

"I doubt the Commissioner is awake right now." Patterson says as he walked the doctor to his squad car. "Watch your head."

Instead of getting in the car after closing him in the backseat Luke watched the cop fiddle with his phone and pick up his discarded belongings. Patterson shows him his own lock screen. He finally gets in the car. Patterson drives away from Grandville South Proper. He fought the tremble out of his voice as he said, "The department is in the other direction chief." Patterson slams on the breaks, smacking Luke's face against the metal divider. Luke tasted blood. They were heading towards his home that at this very moment were filled with children, and his pregnant wife. "How do I stop this?" The chief tells him to tell him what he wants to know. "Then you'll stop the car and release me?" He pulled over at the pier.

"I can't have you lying to me, so we are going to play a game. If I think you are lying when the game is through, then I'll leave you to float onto your property with the tide." His phone rings with a love song and a picture of the Ivey woman. "Sounds like your hot new wife is wanting a man to come satisfy her. You don't seem phased by that, are you already sharing?" The doctor's blue eyes flashed with hatred. Patterson gets out draws his gun opens the back door and tells Luke if he tried to head butt him or kick him, he would float for a different reason. He walks Luke down under the pier until the water is knee high on Luke and tells him to get on his knees. Luke says he'd tell him what he wanted to know just please don't make him do this. "Ok so you like it rough."

Luke shook his head no. As he knelt to get on his knees the cop pushed him over. Without the use of his arms which were still cuffed behind his back water covered his head he remembered that the water wasn't that deep and sat up. It was 40 degrees at night, and he was under the fucking pier with a nut. Chief Nut grabbed Luke's hair and asked him the status of Joy. Before he could speak the nut submerged him backwards. When he thought he'd drown he is pulled up. Air rushed back into his body along with lake water as he sputters and coughs. Chief Nut says that was a test. Patterson then pushes him forward smashing his face into the waters' surface and seemed to take longer to pull him up. Luke had swam for years had even swam against Joshua a week ago. This wasn't swimming, the chief of police was going to kill him. The chief asks is Joy alive. Before Luke can answer he is pushed under again. When he is pulled up, he says what he thinks the man wants to hear. "She's dead ok, are you fucking happy I couldn't save her. System ordered me to stop treatment that's just as good as a DNR." He was lying but prayed to god that the chief didn't dunk him again. Chief Patterson went behind him Luke tensed prepared to go face down again. When he felt the handcuffs unlock, he stayed where he was. Patterson leaned down and handed him his house keycard his hospital card but chucked his wallet in the sand and his 1500-dollar phone into the lake. He then says if Luke spoke about this or if he was lying he'd end his life and it wouldn't be as quick as drowning. When Luke heard the car door slam and the engine start, he looked out at the water still sitting with the water at chest level. As soon as the car pulled off, he stood up ripped off his top shirt and swam for his phone, it was waterproof not just resistant. Ivey Communications made sure of that. It started glowing Sophie was calling him. He dived for the phone. It was getting away and he was running out of air. He swam as far as he could. But couldn't reach it before it went black. He floated for a minute trying to catch his breath. Without it glowing he'd be out here all night and if it dropped off onto the true lake floor. He was good, but as tired as he was even if he got down the 20 extra feet he doubted he'd have enough air and energy to come back up. At 6'2 he already couldn't touch the lake floor where he was, he swam back to shore under the pier and collapsed in the sand, spitting out the house, and hospital card, he'd clenched between his teeth. Now with nothing stopping it, his teeth chattered from cold and fear. Climbing to his feet he started walking.

Up in Joshua's room Angel walked in and closed the door quietly. When she turned around, though she'd been told what to expect the sight of her lover still took her a minute. She walked to him and sat in the chair near his bed. When he opened his eyes everything that had sat on her the past few days and hours finding out he was missing blaming herself, having Bradley blame her. Bradley thinking, she was cheating with the person that locked her lover in a cooler and waited until he was called again to decide to open the door. Watching the playback in one screen and the live stream in the other. Watching and listening to Andrew verbally and physically hurt him. Waiting for him to be rescued, finding out Deon's plan and Alex's first plan to kill him after using him like a fucking straw. Hearing him sound like he was giving up. Hearing that he'd passed out. Joshua's one-word greeting opened her floodgates.

He smelled her Jasmine scent, before he forced himself to open his eyes. "Hey" She just looked at him and then started crying. His fingers were as large as Ball Park Franks right now and moving wasn't good if he didn't want new stabs of pain. "There shouldn't be any tears left, I think I cried them all." He smiled or at least he hoped he did. Whatever Middlebrooks had put in his IV was not super knock you out strong, but it kept the pain at bay. She smiled through her tears at his bad joke, but to be fair he wasn't all that funny anyway. "Please stop crying babe. You know you shred me when you cry. I'm going to be ok." She leans down and kissed him. His good luck charm was kissing him, and he honestly couldn't feel his face right not. He felt the pressure but not her skin. She stood up and he tried tracking her movement. She leaned over and turned down the lights. She asked was that better. "Was I squinting?" she nods. Something Middlebrooks said to him before, sunk in. "My ring or the two halves of it, are in the drawer. They had to cut it off." Though he'd not been super alert, just this few moments with her was the best but he felt sleep creeping up again. "Tired, need sleep, don't want to dream." She says think of her, she'd watch over him, and this time she'd keep him safe. His lover's words softly, and warmly wrapped around him as sleep took him under.

Angel meant it, she wasn't going to let him out of her sight nor out of her proximity. Her husband had fought this hard to stay with her and she'd not have him ripped away from her. They would really have to make a few changes. Not just temp ones either. Two times he'd been taken in his office, only this time the person had took it a step further than subduing him and planning to come back for him, this time one of the people that discovered him the first time had helped in the planning and took him out of the club and away. Joy was injured, while trying to finish wrapping up Deon and his mob family. She looks over when he makes a whimpering sound in his sleep. She runs her thumb under one swollen eye lid and captures the tears that escaped wiping them away she says softly, "Still right here babe, you're safe with me." The hard line of his swollen lips relaxes as she keeps speaking and touching him on the small amount of exposed skin that wasn't as bruised.

Sophie was officially freaked she'd called Luke's phone at the very least 20 times and got his voice mail and even his answering service when she marked it as urgent, she didn't want to hear the chipper woman ask her to hold again. She tracked his location and that did not help the growing panic. He was near the lake she knew that's not where the dot was, but he couldn't be in the lake. Sophie remembers when her phone was thrown into water and tried to fight off more panic. She'd been in Venice heading from a photo shoot and got mugged. The guy had surprised the fuck out of her, she was 19 and had just got off the phone with Adina when out of nowhere something was pressed into her back and 2 Italian men asked for her purse. If she didn't have the good / bad habit of putting her ID and a card her dad gave her for emergencies in her bra, back then there is no telling when she would have been able to contact anyone. After they got the cash, and her cards, they chucked her purse along with her phone into the Grand Canal and ran off. She'd ran for all she was worth back to the apartment she'd been assigned and call her dad collect. That event was why when Luke wouldn't tell her where they were going for their honeymoon, she'd asked anyone he may have told. It wasn't until Angel said that she'd like it that she'd calmed down sitting there waiting for her wedding to start. Her phone ringing in her hand brought her out of her reverie. "Hello?"

Chaz, the driver of the Ivey Transit car that was sent to pick up the doctor had got up his nerve to call not the police, but the owner of the company that had hired him. "Is this Mrs. Ivey Sheldon?" She answers yes. He almost threw up with nerves he wasn't a mogul he drove for them, but something about the chief and the doctor's exchange bugged him. "Mrs. Dr. Sheldon jore husband was arrested I think." She asked him questions in his native tongue of French. He was able to speak to her. He lapsed into his native tongue and continued. He spoke of how the police chief had got very angry with her lover and then drove away in the opposite direction of the station house though he told her love he was under arrest. She asks him was that why her husband's trip was canceled. He explained that when the police chief badged him, he was ordered to hit the cancel button. She hung up and he sighed.

Sophie ran downstairs to her home office to see if Luke's phone moved. It moved but further away from the shoreline. For the last almost 38 hours Sophie had been everyone's rock, her rock, her husband Luke who had kept her grounded until even he needed her support, he now was only god knew where. She called her dad and before he could finish his usual question of is, she ok by the time he hit the word sweetheart, she burst into tears. Saying no she wasn't fucking ok and trying to tell him that Luke was possibly in the lake and how she couldn't even call the police because the chief of Grandville Police was the one who had him.

Across town, Luke sloshed as he walked but didn't want to take off his shoes. He was dirty enough. An Ivey Transit limo sped down the road he was approaching that lead out of Grandville South Proper back towards the pier. He watched as it pulled in and the driver pulled someone out of the back seat. From this distance he couldn't see their faces and it was a good thing to, because in seconds the man that was on his knees just as Luke had been was murdered not even 50 feet from where he'd kneeled in the lake under the pier. The gunshot and splash echoed through the night. The men got back in the limo and turned onto the road he was on. Luke turned and ran. The limo sped past him and turned towards Grandville North. An idea crossed his mind. He looked like shit, but he did have his ID he was going somewhere that he could access a phone. Luke had never walked into Grandville North but his hospital there was closer than trying to walk home.

Niles had told Andrew that he was going to do something that if Andrew saw he'd have to go underground. Andrew had opted to not witness the murder of a top-level dark agent. Andrew drove until he got to his hotel and then another man got in the driver's seat and drove off with Niles and his captive. At his hotel Andrew had packed up his gear and drove out of the garage. An entire police unit had seen him get up from being shot for running towards Joy who was stabbed. No one trusted him, and he didn't dare try to make contact with anyone. It made no sense that no one on the local force had the sense to think that the hideout that was so damn secret was Valentine's house that she'd shared with Vargo. Andrew didn't know about the house until he was inside. There had to be records or something it sickened him that the government or a part of it was aiding and abetting a mob family. Andrew wondered how far up the dark government ladder this shit rose. Speaking of things rising like refuse, he thought about the hot tense conversation Niles had with the guy that had pulled him off Joy. The guy was Nile's superior that much was obvious. Andrew wouldn't lie he wanted the answers to the questions almost as bad as Niles did. Andrew had no destination in mind. He just knew that with no one on his side he was fucked. He hoped that Joy survived because if she didn't that would just speed up the timeframe for Bobby to come after him. As he drove a side street he saw Luke staggering down the street, He had a gash on his forehead a busted lip and looked like he was on the edge of passing out. Andrew pulled over and slowly came to a stop near the doctor. Luke was soaked from head to sloppy wet loafers. "Luke," the doctor jumped away from his car in into a wobbly fighting stance. "I mean Dr. Sheldon can I give you a ride somewhere?" Andrew saw the fear in the doctor's eyes. Luke asked him a strange question about whether he could get out of the front door of his car if he had to. "Yeah. I also have a phone you can use." Luke looked back toward Cherry Lake Street where he had come from and then ahead of them. Then asks him why he wanted him too. He says that Joshua wasn't on the street anymore. "Look you'd find out sooner or later, but Alex is dead if not dying, Deon and the woman who stabbed Joy are dead. I don't want to hurt you, I didn't want to do that shit to Joshua, I was put in a situation that if I didn't do that shit my sister and her small children would have been killed. I can't leave you out here like this. It's not safe for either of us, because if someone found out I left you here then not only do I have Bobby to worry about, but also Chase and anyone he can rope into coming after me. Tell me where you want to go, and I'll take you there. The minute you think I'm not taking you where we agree, tell me to stop the car. That's as good as I can give you short of letting you hold a gun to my head." Andrew gets an idea, unloads his gun. "Matter of fact it's not loaded, but it still hurts. He lays his unloaded weapon on the passenger seat." Luke takes the gun out of the seat and watches him with wide eyes as he slowly gets in. Then asked him to take him home. "I can take you anywhere but there. I can't go up to Ivey Mansion I don't want you stranded but I can't drive up that hill. I wouldn't be able to get away if Bobby has reported me as rouge." Luke then says take him to Sheldon Center Granville South. The doctor shivers so bad he stutters at times. Andrew powered up the window and turned on the heat "Look, I know you guys are really pissed at me and I get it, but please don't set me up. The minute I found out my family was safe, I tried to help you as best I could."

Fear warred with anger for control of Luke's words "What the fuck kind of pandora's box did you open? I'm not trying to set you up. To do that would mean I expected to see you. If anyone should be worried about being set up, it's me. I just have no other safer dry option that doesn't include walking back to Shelden Med Center North. Now because of whatever you started there is a hell storm happening around and to us. How long did you plan on attacking my brother or helping them take my father?" Andrew sticks to his story then says that he would drive him as close as the number streets to his home. Luke nods as Andrew pulls toward the highway and merges. Luke gripped the gun if Andrew didn't get off on exit 144 towards the oldest part of Grandville South near the streets that would lead him to home, Luke was going to beat the shit out of him. Not a smart move to render your driver unconsciousness, but he just couldn't get taken again. Andrew turns up the heat in the car Luke had shivered so much he was sore. True to his word, Andrew left the highway via the right exit and turned the right way. When the heat kicked in and started warming him enough to where he could speak without sounding like a stuttering dolt, he says "You said I could use your phone." Andrew handed over his phone. Luke dials Sophie knowing that she'd be worried sick, he was supposed to have been home almost, he looks at the time, 3 hours ago. "No Sophie, Sophie please stop crying, I know the lake, it's just my phone. I'm on my way." He looks over at Andrew. "Yes, this is Andrew's phone, Andrew is who picked me up, no please listen, not as a hostage." Hearing her cry always knocked the wind out of him. It didn't happen a lot, rarely ever, but when she did it add in the fact that he'd scared her just it made that much worst. "Babe, please stop crying." Andrew says he could take him as far as Cherry Drive, but he wasn't going up that hill. "You hear that? He's going to drop me off on Jonathon's street, I'll walk home from there." She says she could send a car. Fear made his, "No" come out with a finality in his tone that he hadn't meant to use with her. He looks around and made sure they were still heading towards his home. "I'm sorry for yelling I was…" he stopped. "I'll tell you soon, just not now." As Andrew stops the car. Luke says "Sophie I'm on Cherry Drive. I'm on my way." Luke hands Andrew back his phone and weapon. Luke then gets out what he saw made him take off at a dead run up the hill. Sophie was running down the hill. Hearing screeching tires behind him made him run faster and almost face plant the ground. He looked back and was relieved that Andrew had just sped away. When he heard the acceleration, his fear riddled brain had thought that Andrew was preparing to run them over. It was a good thing Luke slowed down, because when they met up at the edge of the property his wife jumped in his arms she'd hit him with such force he almost lost his footing. After kissing him and him returning it, she climbed down and asked what happened and why he was wet. After reclaiming his breath both from the running and their kiss he says, "I'll tell you everything, but can we get behind closed lockable doors first?"

Up inside of their bedroom, Sophie sits on their bed watching as he took off his wet clothing. "The driver said you got arrested. I'll ask again, why you are wet?" He tells her about getting put in the car in cuffs and noticing that they were going the wrong way. He spoke of pointing that out and getting up close and personal with the divider. That explained why his top lip was busted. When he spoke of being told to kneel in the water under the pier cuffed and at gunpoint. His words came out in short bursts the more he said the faster his words came. Sophie stood and walked to him hugging him. He hugged her back and she could feel that he was still trembling. He spoke of the whole ordeal but when he got to the lie. He stopped speaking let her go and ran for the house phone. Lucky it wasn't a video call because he was standing in the middle of the room on the phone trying to reach Middlebrook's in only his wet socks. She must have given him a look as she stood hugging herself because he pulls the phone from his ear and with the most stricken look she'd ever seen on his face, he said he'd lied, and it worked in his favor, but he still had to protect their sister, so his lie wouldn't become truth. Sophie asks, "I don't get it why would her boss want her dead?"

Luke says "I don't know but from the way he was asking I played the only card I thought wouldn't get me drowned. It worked. When he let me go, I swan for my phone, and it was a good thing I left from under the pier when I did. Sophie, I saw a man get shot kneeling almost in the same spot under that damn pier." Middlebrooks comes on the line. He tells her what he did and why. Sandra told him that she would handle it. She was having Joy moved as they spoke. "Sandra I'm sorry I have brought you into this."

Sandra watches the transfer of Joy from her room on the 20th floor to the 80th floor from her office. She types a message to her staff. "Luke if you are worried about your career, don't be you did what you did to save a life, two really one of those, being your own. If you are afraid that I will at some later date if called to ever speak of this. I'm bound by another confidentiality law you are my patient. I don't have to repeat any of what you just told me. I will use it to keep your sister safe but please do not fret for a second that if asked I would repeat this." They close the call and Sandra sets up a few other blocks. Luke was so much more than her boss and the son of her former boss.

After a long hot as he can stand it shower, and putting on warm boxers, Luke lays down with Sophie laying on him as only his wife could. He'd been so worn out when he left the hospital but that had changed when his car was pulled over a mile from his home. Hearing JC cry in the portable crib on the other side of their room Sophie stirs. "I'll get him babe go on back to sleep." Sophie turns over. Luke gets up and changes JC's diaper and feeds him a smaller bottle. Since he wasn't much for singing and didn't want to wake Sophie, Luke turns on the classical channel, one of Sophie's favorites starts to play and as Luke rocked his nephew, as he hummed along with the melody thinking of when he'd be able to do this with his own child. Soon JC was back asleep. He places him back in his crib and laid back down. He slept for maybe an hour and couldn't turn off his thoughts. He slides out of bed and grabs a shirt and gym shorts and heads down into the kitchen for a bottled water then he would go to the basement for some one on one with a punching bag.

Luke walked down into the basement gym and turned on the radio, just by what was programed he knew who had been down here last. Though Josh and he hadn't sparred anymore after the last time, they had got back to working out here or at Ivey Gym and then swimming against each other. Luke had added to their gym when he fully moved in. He'd brought his speed bag and a massive weighted punching bag that was tethered to the ceiling via three durable chains. Wrapping up his hands, he warmed up with a shadow boxing exercise Mark had taught him. He then starts making the speed bag dance he reflected on his night and the other thoughts that had warred for control, when he'd been too scared to let anything out. Stopping the speed bag, he went at the weighted bag with combo after combo with a severity that he had to stop and take a breather. The door opened Luke sharply looks over as he sees Nikki poke her head in sees him then backed out of the door closing it behind her. Maybe he'd been wrong about who had been down here. Finishing up with a brisk run on the treadmill he thought of the other things he had to do today. He wanted to get his phone's information transferred to another phone that was to arrive at 10 this morning. He heads back up to his room and is surprised that Sophie is awake. She looked up as he came in and asked where he went. "Had a bout of insomnia, and figured I'd try to work it off down in the gym. I briefly saw Nikki, but she just ducked back out when she saw me." Sophie asked did he want to stay home today. "No, I'll wait on my phone to be delivered and then I'll go into the office. After I'm done there I'll head over to the hospital, do my rounds. I'll be able to check on Joy she is my patient. I'll drive myself." She says he should just hire one of the drivers he trusted. Sophie then suggested he try to sleep until his phone got here. "Sophie, we all process things differently I'll sleep when it comes, but right now I need to stay on top of things. Yesterday's events just make me crave that much more to put it behind me and carry on. If I drive myself I can control when I leave, and I will be able to control when I come home. I travel too much to let this make me fall into the pattern that Joshua did after his unlawful stop." Sophie was clearly irritated as she asked was he trying to convince himself or her. "The fact I even considered having Dr. Simmons fill in for me at the office and having Middlebrooks cover SMC South out of fear just makes this that much more important for me to not let that happen. If I start hiding out, I don't know if I'd be able to come out of it on top. I've told you before, you make me want to be my best self, I can't do that hiding from the outside world."

She felt hot emotion behind her eyes. Oh boy these hormonal shifts were going to be a beast by the time their baby got here. "I'm not trying to have you hide out from anything. Don't you get it Luke it didn't matter who was driving you last night, he still could have stopped you. You once told me that you didn't take chances in your big shiny toys with your own safety by driving when tired. I know you are amped right now, but that doesn't mean you are going to be functioning at this level all day. I get it believe me I do. After the stuff with Dave, and when that limo crashed into mine I was hyper and nervous about leaving the house for a time. Like you said everyone deals with things differently I just want you to be safe about it, is that too much to ask?" He pulled her in to his arms and told her that he'd have his long-distance driver drive him in one of his toys that way he could always have Ivey Traveler activated and it may deter the chief from messing with him if he knew he'd be recorded the minute he or any of his underlings got in range. As he spoke and held her to him she didn't miss the trimmer that ran through him. She holds him that much tighter. He wasn't the only one afraid last night. Her heart had been sitting in her mouth until he'd got out of that damn car at the end of the hill. He leans down and kisses her. It started as reassurance, a light brushing of lips, then grew into a hungry urgency. It was then interrupted by a giggling and the sound of a stuffed horse with a rattle imbedded in its belly slapping against the railing of the portable crib that sat on the other side of the room. Their eyes open at the same time as they part, they both say, "coming JC."

The following day everyone had a chance to visit with Joshua, giving Angel time to return home and clean up and be with their son, for a few hours. One of Joey's men had gone to the club after getting her spare fob and brought her truck up to the hospital. On her way back up to be with Joshua she'd visited Joy's room, Joy hadn't yet regained consciousness. Bobby sat by her bedside and talked to her. When Angel walked in Bobby told her the answer to the question that must have been on her face. He looks over and says that Middlebrooks had been in and said the baby was fine and that all they were waiting on was Joy to regain consciousness. Bobby had shared that seeing Joy so pale upon entering the room scared the crap out of him. Angel says, "At the very least Joy is able to breath on her own and that is a good sign." Her brother asked about Joshua, "He's not in as much pain due to the medicine Middlebrook has him on, he sleeps most of the time." Bobby says he was surprised she wasn't in the room with Josh now. "I had to go home and see JC and change clothes. I'm here because I wanted to see how Joy was doing, and how you were handling everything."

Bobby hadn't missed the hesitation in her words when speaking about him handling things. "Angel I don't remember doing anything in the waiting room Pop says I pushed him and fought with Mark." Bobby described coming out of his balloon head feeling while getting the call from the system. "After waiting for what seemed like forever, they came and told me what had happened and how she and the baby were going to live. I called her parents and her sister pissed me off, but I kept a lid on my mouth. She accused me of making Joy go out and get herself hurt. Her family got it in their head that she just jumped up the night Joshua was taken and started throwing her weight around to lead the case. She didn't volunteer, her boss told her it came down the pipe to him and he gave it to her. Angel I didn't want her out there, especially when I couldn't physically back her up. She had a feeling about why she was asked to lead this and now with what her boss has done, and not done, it put a lot of pegs into holes for me and it pisses me off. He sent someone that had not actively worked a case like this in years with limited support from their own damn department. I couldn't even call any agents to back her up until I had a clear picture of what the fuck happened. It was hard enough getting approval for the shit I did get to help her with." he takes a breath and changes the direction of the conversation. "So, are you heading back up there or after leaving here or are you going to wait for everyone to get some time with him?"

Angel sighs and stands looking out the window as she speaks, "I'm trying to let everyone on the list have some time to visit, I don't have time or the energy for any more family drama. The one person that is just going to have to get over it is Gloria. I don't want her near him. We both agreed to work with her, so my father wouldn't work himself into an early grave. I will not let Gloria upset Joshua, not here in the state that he is in, not now. Sally said she and Michael would watch JC, so Sophie can get a break. I better get back." Bobby get up hugs her, and a thanks her for coming he says he'd come visit with Josh after Joy woke.

Over at Mark's school the buzz about him leaving the business was louder than any other news or gossip. Rapture was happy as he strolled through the school because he was in town for a live show. Mark had asked to meet him here. Rapture nods at the woman at the desk outside the office that read Owner and Coordinator. So, Mark had finally found the time to get his title put on his door. Rap walks in and Mark greets him and tells him to have a seat. Rapture knew this was a business meeting because other people from WWE creative were present. Sophie was in a window, her home office shown in her background. He waved at the screen. Mark started speaking and Rapture was dumb struck. "So, you want me to interrupt your match and start a feud with you?" This was a chance of a life time. A knock sounds at the door. Big Cass and Enzo walked in and Mark invited them to do the same but as run ins from the training show that would be like Tough Enough but would follow their interaction with other students on their journey through the school. The working title was WWE School Stroll. Rapture was glad he'd graduated before that idea hit the table. He wasn't up for sharing some of the experiences he'd had to go through. The death notes from that cop that beat up Joshua and shot Bobby had put the former co-coordinator Denary Strat- Clarke's husband behind bars. Rapture was going to trial in a few months because of his own attack by Denary and her people that had once worked here. Since he wasn't suing her yet, he was a part of the criminal trial that Mark's school and the prosecutor had put together. Rap's testimony along with the witnesses, and the video had the potential to send Denary Strat- Clarke up the river for a long time. Mark speaks bringing him out of his thoughts and back into what just that quickly had turned into a heated discussion. A female student had wanted to fight Mark for the belt and push. Mark looked at the young lady and says he was not fighting a woman for the title and to hand off the torch too.

After they leave the meeting and walk down the hall Paige just kept saying she could do it. Rapture turns to his former classmate and says to Paige "Honey there isn't that much working safe in the world. Did you not hear what he wants the match to be? If you win the audience would hate you and not in the they hate me and I'm getting paid sense. If you lose it would put a big ole bullseye on his head and the media would have a field day. Mark in a steel cage with a woman half his size that would basically have to be so "tough" she went through all the men in line for this shot. Tell me something, would you be alone, or would you have females attacking us throughout this storyline?" Paige says just because he was on the roster now he didn't have to be an ass. "It's not about me being on the roster it's about image. I'm opening matches for house shows and he is well, he is the fucking Undertaker think about that. He's not going to fight you for the belt for two reasons. This isn't the Attitude Era. Also, what the hell he looks like beating up on you. Or playing mind games with you that won't get him sued nowadays. In the middle of a no bullying campaign. Sophie a female by the way, said it in there and she made sense. The start of the storyline would start in October which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month this would not look good or go well. Those still shots live on way after the count of three." She stormed off saying she was going to talk to other people that could see her vision. Rapture says, "Hey while you are telling them to let you fight Taker for his last match, please do remember to mention there are weapons involved and a steel cage."

On the night of the captive extraction after getting more sleep, Wolfe reentered the room he'd locked Sal and Alex in. He'd given them both a chance to speak. After Salvatore explained the plan and his part, he also said that he was trying for as much damage control as possible and had planned to take out Deon himself and even provided proof that he'd double crossed Deon by not leaving well trained men in Florida. He made his case. Wolfe would have done some of the same. Wolfe did remind his number one that he would be punished. Alex was last and the very unlucky one in the room. When Wolfe asked him what his plan was and why he'd worked with the pet don of a rival family. Alex had first lied, which earned him a few lashes to the gut with a tire iron. He then revealed his entire plan. Wolfe walked over and unlocked Salvatore from the chain around his wrists that had made him stand straight up for the five hours Wolfe had been dozing and dismissed him. Wolfe asked Alex did he know of Joshua Davenport's relation to one Mr. Chase Ivey and one Mr. Jonathon McBride? Alex said yes. He then spoke of how Joshua was his son and to his knowledge the only one except for his grandson that could save his life from his blood disorder. Max asked about a part he'd seen on the video he'd had copied and sent to him. Alex froze when Max asked about Alex's plan to discard both his son and a doctor. Alex confessed. When Max asked what if the blood from his son didn't cure him. When Alex revealed his plan to pull the same stunt but next time with den members to get his grandson. Maxwell asked one last question, he asked Alex whose brilliant idea was it for him to hire professional killers to walk into a home with three children and a woman with another young on the way? Alex admitted it was him but said that the agent did his job and the hired guns didn't hurt the woman or the kids. Wolfe walks out of the room. Alex had angered Wolfe in ways that were not forgivable. Those hired guns were den members. That night Wolfe ordered Salvatore to take that same group of men with him to execute Alex Knight.

Tonight, Maxwell Stalk Wolfe sits in a posh eatery and a man comes to his table at the back in the corner. Max plays with a card in his fingers It was a gift to let those that Alex had hurt not have to doubt that he no longer lived. Joey sits across from him. Wolfe had Alex Knight killed in a fashion that his body would soon surface unlike most of Wolfe's kills. Alex planning and following through with kidnapping Chase's son and a doctor that long ago had saved the Wolfe's own life made him look into the middle distance for a time, and remember when he'd saved a building, and made sure it would be the only one not touched by crime after he left.

Flashback:

Maxwell Stalk Wolfe had been about to shut down a clinic that had refused to pay the protection fee over in Glenview, but when he stood in the back entrance with a loaded weapon and his den ready to come in from all sides to take out the doctor and burn down the building, he saw that even though the clinic was supposed to be closed for the night, there was a young male that he would later find out was Chase Ivey and a small skinny native young one that was now known as Agent Robert Hawk-Ivey there. Wolfe watched and listened as the doctor spoke to the scared young with wild eyes. He'd spoke into his radio telling his den they were to hold a position but make no advance. As the doctor patched the child. He then did the same for Chase. As his den let Chase and the young one out the front door. Wolfe had stepped out of the back hall with a freshly nicked face mask and asked the doctor point blank "Why is it you are willing to sell drugs against my operation and refuse to pay for protection when you appear to care for this community?" the doctor said he wasn't selling drugs he was caring for the sick. Wolfe had his den search the clinic and came away with not much in the way of drugs that were popular on the street. "What are you some kind of apothecary?" The doctor had corrected him and told him he was an internist. "How much do you charge these people? To smear tree shit on them?" The doctor looked at the way he was standing and asked him how long his side had been bothering him. "Never mind that, you're not smearing mud on me." The doctor had told him if it was a bite, he could draw out the poison and possibly elongate his life. "What is that your con, you have attack spiders out here or something?" The doctor even at gunpoint smirked and asked him to lift his shirt. Maxwell had, and the doctor's eyes had widened. "Don't tell me, it's the biggest one you have seen?" The doctor smirked again and said not hardly. That day not only did Wolfe not burn down a building with a child in it, but the heavens sent the smart mouthed doctor into his life and though when Sheldon touched the huge 5 inch infected bubble on the side of Wolfe's waist he wanted to pull the trigger to make the man stop touching it. He stayed his hand as he let the doctor smear white smelly mud on him. It wasn't long after that, the pain that had been getting worse dulled. Days later a large stinger had popped free of his skin it had not been a spider, to this day Max didn't know what had him for lunch, nor did he know what was in the cream, all he knew was the poorer part of the Glenview community had not got themselves a drug operation to rival his, but a real doctor that seemed to give a shit even about hoods with guns.

End of Flashback:

Coming back to the present Maxwell slides the card across the table, Joey picked it up read it, ripped up the card, and set it a flame in the little candle tray in the center of the table. As they both watched it burn, Joey says he would make sure the gift of information was delivered.

Joey stood and leans over and says to Wolfe. "If your number one who is not on that card lives? Please tell him that if he ever tries to off Ivey or any part of that circle while I'm protecting them, I will feed him into a rather large woodchipper feet first." With that Joey walked out, got in his car, and drove towards Grandville South Proper. He had a meeting to get to.

Angel sits in the room with Joshua, who is more awake tonight. She smiles as he asks can she please unbutton his gown since no one else was coming. "Bradley said he was on his way, and besides I really don't want to unfasten anything. Is it hurting you?" He sighs and says no it's just. That was a small sign to her that her lover was getting better he hated shirts when he couldn't get up and move around. "How about I will unbutton a few in the front after your brother leaves." He looked at her and asked had Bradley did or said something out of the way to her. It was her turn to sigh. "It's fine, I'm not trying to start anything." Bradley was soon seen standing at the door that lead to this set of rooms on the monitor. Joshua asked her as she was walking to the door if it was anything that Bradley may have to be ejected from here like with Sally last time. Angel turns around swiftly hearing the unease in his voice. "No, it's nothing like that, if I thought for a second, he would do anything, I would not have allowed him in here." She walks to the door and pushed the button for the door at the end of the hall to open. Bradley passes her and walks into the room with Joshua.

Bradley stood by the door and looked over at his little brother. After running around trying to find Josh and running from the frightening dark thoughts of never seeing him again had not prepared him for seeing what all the doctor had come out into the waiting room and said. Bradley had thought it was Deon, how bad could he look? Getting his answer right now as he stood frozen by the door. He then remembered Deon though not a skilled heavy, hadn't afforded Joshua the use of his hands and feet to defend himself. Anybody could do damage when they were a fucking coward that locked you in place. This had to be worse than when James and Patrick ambushed him, because this time he'd been forced to be awake and still couldn't defend himself. Joshua broke the spell when he asked what he said to Angel. "What? Hello to you too. When just now? I didn't say anything to her. Are you feeling any better?"

"I'd feel better if you stopped staring at me, and if I knew why Angel has gone back to giving you a wide circle of space both verbally and physically." Bradley put his hands in his pockets and broke eye contact then said only one person can be in here at a time. Bradley asked what Angel had told him. "She didn't that's the problem. All she assured me is that whatever it was it wasn't something like what made mom lose her shit on me last time." Bradley told him how he was the one that let Angel know that he was missing. "Ok?" Bradley walks over and sits down rubbing his hands on his pant legs and says his wife would probably get around to saying what he'd said so he might as well tell him before it got jumbled or something, making it sound worse than it did. "Ok I mean what more could you have said that would make it sound worse?"

Bradley looked up at his little brother and explained the clues he had gathered after discovering that Joshua was gone that night. "I mean Andrew was supposed to be having your back and when Candy called him, and he blew her off. I went out to find you." Joshua asked is that when he called Angel. "No, I called Logan and told him the small pieces I was putting together kind of bouncing shit off him and then he told me about how Andrew liked Angel and asked her out after blowing away Braden and it scared me ok. I was freaked out and called Candy and asked her if she knew about the Andrew shit and because of the shit that was said to her after the limo thing she clammed up saying that she shouldn't say. I took that way wrong and hung up on her." Joshua eyes lights with alarm and something darker. Bradley pushed on before he lost his nerve. "That's when I called Angel." Bradley spoke of what he'd said to Angel and how she told him off and hung up on him. "I wanted to call her back, but I knew nothing short of me finding you would have made it right. I did apologize when I got here but that was right before Middlebrooks came out to get her when you were here and had been in recovery."

It was Joshua's turn to speak. "I don't know where to start. Not only did you tell Angel in an explosive way, but then turned around and blamed her like she had a part in it. I mean if you had of just been the one to tell her just that I was missing, I would have thought ok it was kind of a don't shoot the massager type thing, but Bradley that's not what happened. We all were doing so well." Bradley says he knows that's why he felt like shit after she told him off, because she wasn't a good liar in tense situations, and him knowing she wasn't lying made it that much worst because it left no doubt that he fucked up, by not only scaring her with the news Joshua was missing and maybe hurt but also of accusing her of cheating with the person that took him. Bradley says how Candy had tried to call him but how he wouldn't answer until he spoke to Angel thinking that Candy was covering for her and how Candy had gone off on him and told him she didn't know whether Angel had ever told Joshua about Andrew making passes at her. "Just to clear the air on the topic once and for all." Bradley says Angel told him that she didn't hide it because of their couple promise not to keep secrets from each other and considering she didn't want Andrew. She shared it for it not to look like a secret. "Yeah I mean we both thought that she'd finally set him straight" Bradley looks confused Joshua continues "Andrew said something that revealed to me that he still has feelings for Angel, when he was locking me fully to the table. What I don't get is what set him off, he did a lot of stuff to keep us safe. Just to end up working for Alex. The fucker admits to wanting my wife and says it wasn't personal. Brad he played us all." Joshua's head was starting to hurt, and he didn't feel like talking to Bradley anymore right now. Ever since Bradley had told what he'd done. while trying to talk through the confusion of the situation. Knowing how Angel had blamed herself for shit that wasn't her fault in the past, and then finding out his own brother would wrap something as terrifying as him missing and hurt, up with angry accusation and drop it on his wife like that, pissed him off. Bradley asked what he could do to make shit right with her. "She started to let you close to her and you hurt her, like others she's come to care about has done. Right now, leave her alone Bradley, in fact just leave. I really don't want to talk on this with you anymore."

Bradley gets up and says "Joshua just know I am sorry I hurt her. I'm glad you got rescued, because at least me telling her that you were missing and hurt didn't manifest into something worse that I don't even want to think about." He then says, "I'll let you get some rest." and walks out into the hall where Angel was sitting. She gets up and heads towards the room moving from in front of the little window he gets in her path. She steps back looking at him with annoyance in her gaze. "Joshua asked me what was up with us two, and I did tell him. Angel, I'm sorry." Something crossed over her way too expressive face.

Angel wasn't doing this today. "Just stop. What do you want from me? When you called me that night, you meant every word." With that said she side stepped him and walked back in the room. As she enters, she walks over, and watches Bradley get in the elevator on the monitor. When he does, she hit the button so no other people besides herself and medical staff could enter that hall. Turning to Joshua she walks over and says, "Which side do you want it unfastened on?" he says the left. She undoes the shirt and saw the bruising that rose up over his torso, sitting back down, noting the pinched expression on his face she asks, "You want the lights turn down?" He says he's fine just a headache and that he really didn't want to hit the pain med button until they spoke about this Bradley shit. Angel covers her mouth then moves her hand and says, "That night after we got off the phone, I went to take my shower and came back and watched video's and made notes on where our next photoshoot could be. When it was nearing time for the club to close and you guys to finish up, when Bradley called, I was surprised." She then speaks on the weird question about Andrew without even a hello, and her response and Bradley telling her that he was missing and hurt and wrapping it up with his dial-a-fed comment. "On one hand, I am glad he called because I was able to tell Sophie who was able to get dad and Bobby on it quickly, and it worked. We got you back." Joshua asks but? Angel says, "But, it hurt to think that though we had been getting to a better place as a family, a person I held as a brother would think I would ever want to hurt you in any way. I keep asking myself why that would even remotely be a conclusion that he would draw about me? He keeps apologizing at me now. I even asked him what he wants me to do? He meant every word. I told him off because I felt attacked and scared." Joshua says Andrew liking her wasn't her fault. "I know and he's over that have been since my party." Joshua glares at the ceiling and tells her no Andrew still wanted her, before she could speak, he tells her what Andrew said to him while he was being locked in place. "None of this makes any sense he called and told me where you were, and so did Vivian." Joshua tells her about the deal. "I'll never be happy that she had you kiss her, but I'm glad she at the very least held up her end of the deal." He then tells her what Bradley said about after she told him off. "Now he wants me to be ok with it or something. I'm not." She leans her forehead on his bedside. "I'm not ok, with any of it."

Up on the 80th floor, Bobby sits talking to Joy telling her about stuff they could do for the wedding and stuff he'd seen on a video she'd sent him. "I don't think me doing that dance will help improve your family's view of me." Yes, the conversation was one-sided, but he kept talking. Occasionally, he'd glance up. He glances up at her she was moving her hand. Standing he says, "Joy babe please wake up." He takes her hand. It twitches in his larger one. "Joy wake up, please wake up."

Joy felt like she was climbing out of a large pillow or something else fluffy. Then it was like her body had a mind of its own. Her hand twitched she hears someone tell her to wake up. They sound like they are still inside the fluff for a time. She starts to feel the weight of her body she wasn't in her bed. Where the hell, was she? The voice repeats itself. This time it sounded louder. Was he mad? Why was he yelling? She opens her eyes and is met with a large fuzzy man standing over her. Pushing herself into the pillow she tries to lean away from him. He leans out of her face. She tried to remember more than her name and pain stabbed her in the brain. She looks up and see the tracks in the ceiling. "Hospital why?" Her voice startled her. She sounded drunk. Sgt. Richards was going to be so pissed. Had she crashed or something? The pain came back double time. "Ow." She wanted to put her hand over her eyes but slapped herself in the face instead. Oh great, one of the new guys was here to watch her back and she was crying. Why would she need someone to watch her back? Okay asking herself questions was not going to make the headache go away it was making it worse. She would try to ask the officer that had been posted. She first needed his name. "What's your name officer?" She was slurring and suddenly he left, was there something going on? Had someone tried to get in here? "Where did you go?"

Bobby charged out of the room and almost ran Luke over grabbing him to steady him then not letting go he says. "Luke, she doesn't know who I am. What the hell?" Luke asked Bobby to release him in a firm tone. Bobby let's go and explains the strange question. Luke walked in and Joy was upset and crying. "Captain Joy Wildflower?" She slurs that she's a detective but hoped to make his statement true one day. Luke frowned then says, "I'm doctor Lucas Sheldon" she asked about the officer. Luke looked around and then remembered Bobby's concern that Joy didn't know him. "He's in the hall. I have come to check on you since you are awake now." She looked confused. She knew who she was but was missing a lot of time. He writes on his tablet and approaches the bed. He talks to her and tells her his movements. Her visual tracking was off. He asks her a few questions, whenever she tried to recall something recent or even five years ago, it seemed to bring on pain. He looked at her history she was a detective almost 6 years ago. She was experiencing traumatic memory loss. Thinking of a person she was employed by that he'd like to forget he asked did she recall a man named Dylan Emanuel Patterson. She says yes, he was a little creep to her at times but still a good cop, then shakily covered her mouth. She then asked was he in the car with her. "Detective you weren't in a car. You were stabbed on scene and brought here to "Sheldon Med Center South." She asked South of what. Six years ago, their town wasn't divided Luke replies "Grandville."

Over at Ivey Mansion, Chase and Jonathon sit in the den waiting on Joey to arrive. When he does, he walks in with his name being read through the system. His new access card had worked. "Hello gentlemen, I'll have to tell Sophie Elaine thank you for her agreeing to give me access." Chase says with mirth in his tone if Joey didn't want to be a foot shorter, he'd not call her Sophie Elaine to her face. "Duly noted, the last thing I need is her showing me the door via throwing shit at my head. You know why I say that Chase." Chase smirks and tells Jonathon that his mother Nana Barnett had found Joseph taking fresh baked cookies from the tray without washing his hands and she'd smacked him in the forehead him with a wooden spoon. "Yeah, your mother didn't take no shit. I have some news that will uh lighten the load sort to speak. I figured I'd tell you both before Sophie gets in here. Alex Knight's body was found. His former employer wanted those people that Alex hurt, with the kidnapping to know that he would not be a problem anymore." Jonathon says if he knows who Alex worked for that was a gift indeed. "You would be right McBride I'll still keep an eye on him I don't trust a lot people and I have a job to do." Jonathon nods.

Sophie waits on Luke in the atrium, she'd told her dad that Luke was back at the house and who had him. Luke called her and texted her a lot today and some points she could hear him warring with himself to stay active. The "push through" mentality could only go so far on an hour of sleep and a pot of coffee. He calls and says he is leaving the office now. Sophie could hear the unease in his voice and asked. "Since you're not driving would you like to vid chat?" He sends her a request to do so. "He looked tired and every so often, he'd look away from the camera. She knew what or more accurately, who he was looking for. She wanted to reclaim his attention and give him something to focus on. "Luke, so how is Joy?"

As Luke watches the activity down the street he looks back at his wife on screen. "I'd rather speak of that behind closed doors." He then speaks of the rest of his day that was filled with challenges he had not readied himself for when fighting an internal struggle for normalcy. He shared the pace of his thoughts and the over awareness in situations that had never given him issues before. Sophie says that was because he never had to deal with something like that before. "All in all, I think if this feeling doesn't subside, I'll take Middlebrooks up on her offer of a session."

The latter part of his statement was murmured, but she'd heard. Sophie had worried that throwing himself back in to his usual routine after last night would mess with him. Hearing the way, he'd took to using the skywalk for most of his office to med center travels told her that he'd just traded hiding at home for hiding at work. She nods as she sees the gate closing in his background. He tells his driver thank you and they both watch as the driver got in his car and drove back out of the gate. "Dad, Jonathon, and Joey wanted to meet with us in the den." They soon close their call as he enters the house and his name is read through the system. She watched as he leans on the front door with his eyes closed for a full minute. Opening his eyes, he sees her and walks towards her she meets him at the entrance to the den. "Do you need more time?"

Luke shook his head and says "No, the longer I wait, the harder it will be to go through with it." Luke had agreed that he would let Chase know the details of what went on last night, though if he was honest with himself, he was still afraid of the threat the chief left him with. Too many people had come way to close for his comfort, in turning their threats into promises here lately. They head into the den holding hands. As they enter, conversation stops then Chase introduced Joey. Joey greets them. Chase asked him what happened last night. Sighing and running his hand through his hair a usual gesture for him was accented tonight by him wincing when he touched the bruise on his forehead. He'd did a good job of hiding it from his staff with his hair. Lowering his hand, he says. "There are parts of what I'm going to say that must not leave this room." He tells them his account of what happened only having to stop once when his words had sped up into a frenzy of stuttered dialogue. Chase had approached him and told him to stop. He then suggested that he ask questions. Frustrated with himself Luke says, "Yes ask away, that way you'll get the information you need without me sounding like I've lost brain cells." Luke crosses the room and pours himself coffee. The action was more for something to do with his hands than to fill his caffeine addiction. Sophie asked would that hurt his being able to sleep. "No, right now I'm about one quiet pause away from falling asleep on my feet." Chase asks him a few more questions and that quiet pause came as Luke sat down near Sophie on the couch as Chase paused for Luke's answer. All in the room noticed that Luke had fallen asleep. Chase says that for now they'd table this, and he would put a few things in motion.

Sophie walks over and puts a cover over Luke. Since waking him via touch would probably be a very bad idea considering just putting the cover on him made him tense. He wasn't a violent sleeper, but with all that had gone on she didn't need him in half fugue state and trying to defend himself. When he was awake, he wouldn't hurt her. Even when he slept walk, she'd been able to calmly suggest he go back to bed. After all the crap that he'd been through lately she wasn't risking finding out. Her father in law poked his head in Sophie turned and told him that Luke had a bout of insomnia and this was the result of him crashing.

Lucas Sr. walks further in the room "Chase just informed of me what happened last night. We were dropped off here by Bradley, and after a shower Ella says she spoke to me, but I guess I fell asleep on her. The fact that I could have awaken this morning to my son missing or worse is beyond frightening." As he watched his son sleep with his head on the back of the sofa. "If he stays like that all night, he won't be able to move without discomfort by morning." Sophie tells him that she didn't want him to sleep down here either, but she didn't want to set him off by trying to wake him. She explained about sometimes being able to get him moving when he was extra tired but not after something so traumatic. Lucas has her come over by the door. He walks over and stands not over Luke but beside him. Taking the cover off he noticed the tense posture even in sleep. Lucas sits next to his son and was prepared for when Luke felt the depression of the cushion beside him and struck out. Lucas caught his son's hand and told him he was safe. Lucas releases his son and speaks at first Luke flinched as he moves his hand back to protect himself. His father speaks sternly but firmly in a quiet reassuring tone. "Lucas you are safe, you're downstairs in your own home." Luke speaks but Lucas had no idea what he was talking about. Sophie says he was probably answering a question posed to him while he was awake. Lucas nods and continues "You are in your den here at Ivey Mansion, you are home, get up, walk upstairs, get in your bed, you are safe son." Luke says he made it home. In a questioning tone. Sophie speaks to him like when he would fall asleep in their shower. He gets up and proceeds her up the stairs and into their bedroom he takes off his shoes, as he stood by his side of the bed, he took off his shirt and fell face first across the bed. Sophie waited until he turned his head and his facial features evened back out and his light snoring resumed, before she laid down with him. She found that sleep was calling her too as she drifted off.

Over at The Davenport Candy wiped down the bar, her and Vash were covering tonight. Bradley walked in and sat in her area and orders his usual locally brewed beer. "So how did your visit go?" He tells her what was said and how Joshua told him to leave his wife alone and to just leave. He goes on to describe his interaction with Angel in the hall, and how she sidestepped him after asking him what he wanted from her. "Babe, right now Joshua is right. I think you'd rather her not be thinking constantly about you and the phone call. Right now, just let her revel in the fact that her husband is out of danger. Give her some time, a lot went down and for now letting her not think about you is best. She let you up to see him. She also let you be the one to tell Joshua what happened between you two. That says a lot." Bradley jumps on the defense saying he would have been able to see his brother without Angel's approval because he was a med contact. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Bradley don't take this wrong way. Angel is Medical Liaison one, and very protective of Joshua at times like this, if she honestly didn't want you up there you would not have been able to get on that elevator, none of us would have. As for her not telling Joshua about how you delivered the news, she just didn't want him amped I don't think she'd say anything right now that may upset him. I got a chance to go see him this afternoon Angel texted me and sent me the code. When I got up there seeing what Deon and Andrew had done really made me have to push aside all the shit I wanted to say. Joshua says that he's afraid he won't be able to play anymore. He's scared about a lot and has a lot of shit on his mind, so I think you guys talking and him getting upset just made him want you out of his space for a time. Let him and Angel deal how they need to. I'm not saying do as I was trying to do and try to wait them out or anything but let them deal with what is going on right now."

The next morning Joy called the officer that was outside her room. When he rushed in it startled her, but recognition dawned on who he is and that made her nervous. He was the federal agent that worked her first serial killer case as a detective with her. "Oh wow, Agent Robert Hawk-Ivey. I have a question what about my situation warrants protection from a federal agent? The doctor said I was stabbed but when I asked was my attacker still at large he said my attacker was killed at the scene." His expression opened when she'd said his name and then it closed again. He says he was not here on duty he was here because he'd heard that she was hurt in the line and came to make sure she was ok. "Oh, thank you?" She smiled up at him. Hearing that he'd came to check on her warmed her and made her feel safe. If she remembered correctly, he was always easy to talk to. "Well, besides feeling like a truck ran over me when the cream wears off. I'll be fine unless they stop putting that cream on its surprisingly effective at keeping the pain down. I guess they have the record of the last time I had to have pain med. I'm allergic to whatever it is in Tylenol 3. I tried to call my parents and let them know I'm ok. This room has no phone to the outside it seems. I tried pushing 9 and all that, but it's like they won't let me talk to anyone. He tells her that he'd got in touch with her parents. "Oh, I'm sure my dad asked you a million and one questions."

This confused Bobby, because her memory of him seemed to be based on shortly before they started dating. Seeing her as she may have been those nights after they'd worked that first case together was very surreal for him. He wondered how long her brain would protect her from the truth. Though right now he would follow her lead, in months she would be having their baby. Earlier than that she would begin to show. He comes out of his thoughts and asks, "Why is that?" She explains about her ex how that didn't go so well. She goes on to say that her dad hadn't wanted her staying on the force, but it was her decision and she decided to remain and how it paid off because she was now a detective and her ex was demoted to street patrol. Hearing her speak of her old partner and ex-boyfriend gave him a clearer picture of why she was so hesitant to date him in the beginning. He talked with her and got caught up in the conversation to the point he temporarily forgot that he wasn't talking to the woman he was engaged with. She told a joke and he laughed so hard his eyes teared. Catching his breath, he says, "That's why I love you." The shock on her face that was soon replaced by dread struck him.

"I'm sorry you what?" he shrugs and looked pained. Joy stared in horrified silence. "No, you can't we hardly know each other. I learned that lesson, I told you about that this very night. If that was your idea of a joke, I don't find it amusing." He stammers that he didn't mean to upset her. "Thanks for coming to check on me. Now that you know I'll pull through you can leave now." He gets to his feet the look on his face was one she'd seen before but for the life of her, she could not remember when. He opens his mouth and her native language in the Spokane Indian dialect rolled off his tongue expertly as he said he once promised her that he would never lie to her therefore he could not take back what he had said. With that he walked out of the room. He was Blackfoot Indian but raised by a man by the name of Chase Ivey. She'd looked him up and ran into lots of blocks she'd hacked the data base and only found pictures of blacked out pages, she suspected he was a darker agent than even he suggested. If he had not of told her while on a stakeout about his relationship to Chase Ivey, she would have found nothing.

Bobby stormed down the hall to the area where he could safely use his cell on this floor. He sat down in the waiting area and looked at the time. It blurred as tears ran from his eyes that he hadn't even know were falling. What had he done? He foolishly thought him speaking her native language would speed up her memory because she was the one that taught him. It hadn't worked and though he would not apologize for telling her he loved her. He did not know how he was going to get through this. He calls his father and explained the situation leaving nothing out and then ended it with his latest fuck up. "I don't know what else I can do dad. I now know the fear Sophie spoke about when you had your nightmare after your attack, she'd fear you had forgotten her."

Chase says "Joy hasn't forgotten you son. She remembers you before whatever is locked away in her head happened. All you can do is give her time. She is in the best place and being protected by part of some of the best medical professionals on this side of the world, just give her mind time to catch up with itself."

Chase suggests that when Joy asked him back in the room for him to show her images of their time together. "I can do that. She made beautiful photo albums. I'll go get them and bring them up here." Bobby now at least had a mission he could complete instead of just going home and being scared out of his mind that his wife to be would never remember him.

**Author's Note:** Joy is in a secure no ground access room. The reason she can't call out is because these rooms are called non-com or no communication in or out, because land lines are easy to trace. Will she remember Bobby? Will Bradley's spiral be the final arrow allowed to strike Joshua through hurting Angel? Will Mark let Paige convince him to pick her to fight his last match with, or does Rapture have the right Idea that it would be the end of Mark's legacy and not in a good way? **:End Note **


	4. Chapter 4 Train of Thought

Chapter 4 Train of Thought

Down on Joshua's floor, Angel gets a call from Mark asking for the code to come up and visit his cousin. Angel asks Joshua how he was feeling this morning, and if he wanted any visitors. Joshua says he was feeling a little better. He looks down at his hands as he tries to make a fist which was one of the exercises Luke had given him. His hands only partly closed and that scared him beyond words. Looking up at Angel he asks, "What if I can't play anymore? I mean I know that we have a bass player and lead when I'm singing but," Angel tells him that he was able to move his hands more today than yesterday. "True I'm just... It's just a lot right now." Angel asked did he mind Mark coming up to visit him. "That's fine." They talk for a time and she tells him to please at least wait until they took off wraps complete with monitors to track the spasms and blood flow around his wrists and ankles. "Fair enough, I guess. Thanks babe." Soon Mark arrives, and Angel says she is heading home so she can be back by this afternoon. She kisses him and this time he could feel her lips on his. That was an improvement that gave him a lot more hope than it probably should have he wouldn't be playing guitar with his lips.

Angel greets him along with Paula who would wait on Mark because he was leaving town today to start another storyline in Arizona, and Mark didn't want his truck parked at the airport. Paula hugs her, and Angel hugs her cousin back. Paula asked how Angel was holding up. "Much better than the first night. He's already asking me to take off the top gown or unbutton it. The fact that he is coherent enough to make such a simple request, fills me with hope that he will recover soon." Turning to Mark as he is about to walk into Joshua's room Angel says to him "Can't wait to see the new look on camera cuzo." Mark smirks, nods, and enters the room. Mark's hair had grown back darker with a darker red tint.

Angel heads up to see Joy but is denied access when she swipes her card. She calls Bobby "Hey, is Joy ok? I'm up here and my card won't work." Bobby sounded funny and not ha ha, as he explains about Joy and how he didn't want her going in and saying anything that would make Joy even more confused than she is right now because of his big mouth. "But you guys were dating around that time why would she be shocked that you love her?" He says because what she is remembering is close to three months before he ever told her how he felt. "Oh, okay well Bobby all I can say is she will remember you, love is some pretty powerful stuff and she loves you." He says he hope she is right. Angel just prayed that Joy remembered Bobby before her brother lost his mind. They close the call and Angel heads home. When she enters the den, for a moment she stands in the doorway and watches as Sally plays with JC. Sally looks up at her and her goofy smile leaves her face. "He's fine." Angel says to the unspoken question riding in her mother in law's gaze. Sally sighs and says she didn't think she could take any more bad news. "I know what you mean." Sally says she never did get a chance to officially apologize and how she hoped her words wasn't what made Angel leave the house that night. "I won't lie, I didn't want another run in with you. After getting those calls I felt I had to get out of here. I am glad you didn't escalate anything at the hospital the night we got Josh back." Sally says she was just glad Angel let her see her son the day after. "Mom, I just did what I thought would be right. If I thought you would continue. You would have been ticked off, but there was no way I was going to let anyone in my husband's room that would upset him. I'm glad you hopped back on the sanity train, I really am." Sally speaks of Jonathon's talk with her after Angel ran from the room that day. Sally then says she'd let Angel spend some time with JC while she went and fixed them all something to eat before Angel would be returning to the hospital. "Thanks, mom for watching him, and everything." Sally nods and thanks her for allowing her to.

Up in Joshua's room, he speaks to Mark and Mark tells him not to stress so much about what he can't do and be thankful that he was able to survive at all. Mark asks him how Andrew got the drop on him in the first place. Joshua tells him the stuff he could remember and said there had to be more, but all he could remember was being in the cooler and having Andrew slam the door in his face and him not being able to get out, then being on his floor of his office getting zapped. Mark asked did he remember whether Andrew asked him to come back there. Joshua tries to remember stuff that happened after his call with Angel but before the cooler and came up with zero. "I don't know."

Mark could see taking Joshua back to that night was maybe the wrong idea. "Well for what the paper said you were recorded by the backup camera being carried out unconscious by Andrew. A lot of it don't make dimes to donuts of sense. The important thing is that boy that claimed to be your old man at my party, won't be able to hire no one else to hurt you or anyone for that matter, because he's set to go in the ground soon. He was said to have died from six shots to the head. He was found face down under the pier, the day after you were rescued." Joshua speaks about Deon still being out there somewhere. "He was identified at the morgue by his mother the night you were rescued. Someone put some lead right between his eyes. My thoughts, it couldn't have happened to a better punk piss ant of person. Anybody that is that fucked in the head deserved what he got." Mark found that he was getting just as angry as he'd been reading about that shit Deon had done to his cousin. "I have to get on the road here soon, just wanted to come by before I left the area." Mark didn't miss the relived expression on his cousin's battered face. Joshua thanks him for coming. Mark nods as he leaves the room.

As Mark exited back into the hall, Paula stood up and asked was he alright. "Yeah darlin and I now know why he asked that Nikki and Jan wait a time before being able to visit." Paula walks to the little window and waved at Joshua. She then turns to Mark asking was Joshua in much pain. "No, he says Middlebrooks got him on a good mixture that don't tank his system and gives him relief. It's a good thing that boy was rescued, he's worried about stuff that wouldn't have even mattered if they had of kept him any longer." Paula says she would call him later because she didn't want to see him like this, but she did want him to know she was thinking of him and praying for him to make a full recovery. Thinking of when he himself first walked into the room and how Joshua thanked him for not staring at him made Mark speak up. "He knows." Paula asks was Mark ready to head to the airport. He nods, and they head down in the elevator.

Rapture wanted to go in and visit Joshua he'd waited on Cass to come out she came back out and walked to him hugging him telling him how seeing her brother like that just made her think of when Rap had been attacked at Mark's school. She goes on to say that Joshua was pissed at Bradley and how she felt tongue tied because she understood but still didn't want this to rip their family on to two sides of a battleground. "If he wants to talk about it, I'll talk with him but honey it's good you didn't push, right now there is bound to be a lot that Bradley didn't say to you." Cass nods and sits where he'd been sitting waiting on her. She says she had to get back up to LEGNA and would he come by her office before heading to his next town. "Yeah, I wouldn't just hit the road without at the very least coming to get a kiss." Rapture heads into Joshua's room.

Joshua looks up at Rapture coming in the door he hopes this visit goes a lot better than his sister coming in a staring at him until he asked her to stop. Though they got along a lot better than in the past they still had some of their old habits. When he'd spoken, she'd looked out the window the whole time. He greets Rapture to break the silence. "Hey." Rapture looks at him and asks was he in any pain. "Nah, right now the med works to relieve the pain unless I move around too much. Then the spasms start up again which are no joke." Rapture says though he'd like to forget, he remembered all to clearly that part of his own recovery. "At least I didn't get any facial breakage, but it wasn't like Deon didn't try. Mark told me that someone ended Deon and Alex's asses." Rapture says yeah, the story got some major ink. "I'm just relieved to know that Alex can't pull this shit again." Joshua leans the bed back a little, sitting straight up as he'd been doing was starting to wake up the muscles around his midsection. The pain med dosage was on a time release and he didn't want to relive that pain if he could help it. Rapture tells him about other stuff not related to him and more to do with what he was doing with WWE. The change in topic was welcomed. Until Rapture spoke about Bradley.

Rapture sees that changing the subject relaxed his friend. He takes a seat that was near the bed and continues. "Yeah, man I had no idea that doing house shows could pay this well. Locally my name or my stage name puts a lot more butts in seats than I thought it would. When Cass bought our home it always made me think that I'd never be able to repay her. She saved my bacon in a time that it seemed like everything I worked for was about to fall quicker than a building downhill. With my next appearance if I sell as much merch as I have at the last three shows, I am calling Bradley to see if I can get that day room Cass wanted added on to our house. She wants one like the one that sets off your kitchen I figured though Logan's company didn't do the one added to your place, I've seen what him and Brad can do with a hammer and a plan." Joshua says he really didn't want to talk about Bradley or Logan right now. "All you guys are the closest I got to kinfolk. I mean you all have supported me I just wanted to give some back, speaking of which, thanks for the intro music man. It really set me apart from everyone else. WWE sent out the checks, so I imagine that you'll hear from Jonathon in a time. I know Cass said you were sore at Bradley for some reason but why would Logan be on that list, if you don't mind me asking?" Joshua tells him about how Logan got it in Bradley's head that Andrew and Angel may be a thing and how Bradley spewed that shit at his wife while telling her that he was missing and possibly hurt. Rapture was glad Cass didn't chime in on this. Rapture gets an alarm on his phone and shuts it off. "Well I'd stay longer but duty calls I got more reminders working for this company than I ever had to set for myself running the club, but I'm sure as hell not complaining get well soon man."

Days later down in his office, Luke drinks his third cup of coffee. He was hyper and beside a few nights ago when he passed out from exhaustion some time during a family meeting and woke up in his bed his sleep had been broken. Here it was Sunday again, an entire week had passed since his brother and father were taken and rescued. The chief was put on suspension for his actions while Internal Affairs and other agencies worked to investigate the information that he'd repeated too many times to forget the first and hopefully only time he'd been detained. The day after he'd told Chase and his new security partner Joseph about what happened to him, he'd sat for an interview with a man from Bobby's agency and a man he found out was friends with Chase, the Police Commissioner. Inside the interview they'd taken his picture of where the chief had made him kiss the divider and whatever he bruised his forehead on in the water under the pier. They had asked him to tell the story again he'd had to stop speaking during the interview, because though he was sitting in a government building that wasn't attached to Granville South Police Department even sitting in an office at City Hall made him anxious to the point, he felt sick by the time he left. A knock is heard at his office door. "Come." His father surprised him when he entered. "Hi dad is everything ok?" His dad says he was coming to ask the same question. Luke rubs a hand over his nape "Sure, I was just surprised you are out this late." His father looks at his watch, walks over, and hit the switch to open the blinds. It was already Monday morning. As the sun peaked from behind the buildings of downtown Grandville South Proper. Sophie was at a conference in Baltimore she'd promised that she would stay with Adina and Gregory. He hadn't really wanted her to go at all, but at the very least she was staying with trusted friends, he would have looked like a hypocrite if he told her that he wanted her to stay here when he fought so hard to act like everything around him wasn't beginning to freak him out. He stayed here in his in main office longer and longer doing paperwork ever since Sophie boarded Chase's private jet on Thursday. He'd did all the tasks that had been sitting in his work cue for months or that he would generally delegate to his office managers. Tonight, or this morning, he'd finally finished all the work in this office. He didn't see patients on Sundays unless it was an emergency. Looking at his own watch as if the sun was playing a trick on him coming through the window. He thinks aloud "So that's why Sophie said goodnight she'd thought I was heading home."

Lucas loved how his daughter-in-law loved his son and tried even from afar to keep him well. He holds up his phone and says, "No, she knew you were here via the tracker. She says she'd called the house and Chase told her that you had not arrived, so she asked would I come by and ask you to go home, I told her I would." Luke says he just got caught up with all the work he'd been behind on. "Congratulations, now per your wife's orders go home and get some rest." Changing the topic Luke asks how everything at his parents' home was, now that they had both returned. "It has been below par, but though your mother is against it I had a plan. As you know, though she is retired she as I, still work as a consultant. I want to move to the island full time. You were looking for a second home that doesn't carry the memory of your ex, I could arrange for you to take over our home here. Also, if you want, I'll quick sell you the Bentley that is here." His son accuses him of running. "Don't take that tone with me." Luke apologizes as he grabs his jacket says he was heading home now. "Good, I'll ride with if that's ok?" Luke asks did he drive here. "No, I caught Ivey Transit here." His son looks at him for a beat and then asks what happened that night because Joy had theories but nothing concrete. Lucas had not got a chance to really speak to his son, they get in the back of his son's Hummer driven by one of his long-distance drivers that didn't live too far from the hospital. Lucas watched the camera almost as carefully as his son did. They soon enter Ivey Mansion hearing their surname read through the system upon them opening the door and heading into the den. Luke closes the door and says he figured that his father wouldn't be up for speaking about it in front of his driver, but he did want to know what happened. As the memory that wasn't ever far from his mind replayed Lucas spoke. "Those fucking criminals somehow disabled my car along with Ivey Traveler. My mobile went black preventing me from calling for roadside assistance. A car pulled up and two men got out and asked could they help. I thought about the conversation we had about karma, and how I had helped many people stranded on the side of the road. I said sure. They asked me to pop the hood. As I reached in, I heard a click and looked up into the business end of a firearm in my face." Luke tells him about going to the scene and what Sophie said he looked and sounded like. Lucas sighs and says, "I'm glad she did not let you hang up. I have had a complete fugue shut down, it's very alarming to what lengths the mind will go to protect itself." Luke asked was that when he was still a doctor or had that happened recently. "It's one of the reasons I retired." Lucas carries on with his story and spoke of the agent that gave him an outlet that proved to be a useful way to keep his mind focused on something more than fear for Joshua's and his circumstances. He spoke of seeing Joshua as a patient at times to remain detached enough to work on him and speak to him as if it was just another session or a visit. Instead of thinking too hard about what was really happening. He mentions Alex's threat. Luke tells him that Andrew had stated that Alex was either dying or dead. "Those are two very different states of life, given by the man that started this powder keg. Or have you forgotten?" Luke mentions how Andrew claimed to have been set up. He also pulls his phone and pulls up the news article that confirmed that Alex was dead. "Well I think your mother and I are going to head to the island, because I swear, I have seen the taller one about town." Luke accused him of wanting to stay. "That would be the plan." Lucas ticked off reasons on his fingers. "No major aircraft can land there. You know I've been thinking about doing this for a time. As I have said before you can even have the Bentley." Luke gets pissed and says he didn't want the car he wanted his parents here when his child came into the world. Then storms out of the room and back up the stairs. Lucas sighs and orders his ride home.

Bobby had been extra careful when speaking to Joy. When he'd found her photo albums at their home after his father suggested he do so, he just sat and remembered the memories connected with those snap shots of time. He was relieved when she'd called him back in. She claimed to be bored and lonely. He didn't mind the reason just that she wanted his company. The first few minutes she just asked questions because she wanted to know why he said what he said. He showed her pictures of them and spoke of his hope that she remembered him how they were before her accident. She'd started looking through the book that she'd first put together after their first year of dating. She'd stop on a picture and ask him where they were when it happened, and he'd tell her. When she pointed at one and asked was, he really going to jump. "No, that was a prop on the set of the movie we had a studio package to tour. You rather enjoyed seeing them hook up all the cables to my vest as I swung across the set."

Joy closed the book. "I'm glad you came back. It's super clear that you care." She couldn't believe that supposedly she was this organized to start a photo album. His story really did have merit because she couldn't see herself looking him up so thoroughly if he was just a contractual work acquaintance. Most federal officers were the enemy when it came to local law enforcement. Once she could see him clearly and having him leave when she asked and then return when she asked made her think that there was possibly a lot of merit to his words. She'd woke this morning with a terrible headache. The room seemed to be closing in on her. Knowing her family was so far away. She asked him could she please use his phone to at the very least call her parents. He pulled a flip phone and handed it to her. She dialed her parents and was soon clearly upset by their reaction. "Mother, I am ok. Sore but ok. Agent Robert said he informed you." She can hear her older sister in the background. "I must go, I know how you worry. Goodbye, mother." Handing the phone back Joy closes her eyes. Would the bickering ever end? Her sister had yelled that they thought she had perished. That other voice that she'd heard gave her another emotion to try not to think about showing. Elation's boyfriend was a very untrustworthy person, but he was who her sister loved. She'd heard many of their fights that frightened her. Robert touched her cheek she opens her eyes and noticed that he had captured a tear on the pad of his thumb.

Bobby had not seen when the tears even started all he knew was something or someone had upset her. She'd sounded like she usually did when speaking to her family. He'd once thought she only did that in front of him, but maybe she was as guarded as she sounded. Before now she'd spoke to his father and sisters with more of a closeness. "If you don't mind, may I ask what upsets you so?" She speaks of her sister and how she'd yelled that they had read online that she had perished and that she thought he'd contacted them himself. "I did. I called them soon after you were moved." She goes on to tell him some things about her family that he never would have guessed. Elation who was her oldest sister was in a relationship with a male that scared her. "Why does Jack scare you?" She tells him of when she still lived at home in Washington before going off to school and entering the academy. Elation's now husband that her family compared him too sounded like a loud verbally abusive male and Joy had heard him threaten her sister one night while she was home. "Did you brother hear it?" She says she told him but got accused of trying to break them up. She then says that is one of the reasons she chose to move all the way to Texas to go to college. She speaks of other things that he had never asked, and she'd never shared with him. Her family had always doubted that she would succeed away from the reservation. She'd more than succeeded and when she remembered the locked away pieces of her memory, she would be able to believe his words.

Monday morning, Chase gets ready for his work day. Amy walks in to the sunroom and hands him coffee and a bagel. He kisses her and enjoys his breakfast and asks her what her plans are for today. Amy speaks about his son's birthday coming up. "Oh, I regret to admit that it had slipped my mind. From what I heard of last year from Sophie I don't see Joshua wanting any fuss especially with all that has gone on here lately."

Amy says "Chase I think at the very least we could make him a small cake and go up to the hospital and try to cheer him up because celebrating your birthday in the hospital can't be…"

Chase cuts her off. "Amy stop please. Dear, the woman that called Angel to tell her where Joshua was being kept inside the house is the same one that threatened their relationship on his birthday last year, so please no cake, no surprise, just leave him alone." Amy says ok and changes the subject.

Over at Logan's work site, he watched his friend spiral and really didn't know what to do about it. Bradley was being productive, but his attitude with the crew was a lot more aggressive than need be. After watching him go off on one of the new female electricians to the point she ran off crying, he had to put a stop to this. "Davenport my office now." Bradley looked over at him from the ladder climbed down and in minutes they were in the mobile office. Logan closed the door to the trailer "Look, unless you want her to send a few thousand volts of act right through your system leave her alone." Bradley says he was just checking on her. "She's fine we no longer are getting that weird surge every time we turn on the power. I'm sure this block appreciates not getting their lights turned off every time we start working over here." Bradley mumbles this area is a piece of shit anyway. "Bradley, I'm telling you this now cool it with the bad mouthing the entire area this is a work site. We are here to rebuild it, if you want to be transferred later fine, but right now I need your head in the game on this. I don't need you attacking my crew. Your firm but fair work demeanor I respect, this new you, I'm starting to doubt that you can take on a job where I'm not around anymore. I have worked way too hard for you to come in and tank my company one area at a time. Do you realize how much money we stand to lose if you chase off the unionized electricians in the start of summer? Let's put it this way, a lot."

Bradley gets to his feet. "Man, I'm sorry you're right I'll go apologize to Suzanna she didn't need me micro managing her like that hell I don't know nothing about rewiring a building. It's just in a few days it will be Joshua's birthday and I know he don't want me up there and it's driving me nuts." Logan says that he isn't sure Joshua would want anyone up there gawking at him right now. "Yeah I guess you have a point. Lo, you can still count on me like I said, I'll make this right. You would think I would be used to him being sore at me." Logan looked at him and asked what Josh was mad about now. Bradley was irritated with himself and the situation but hadn't told Logan about his epic fuck up. "He's mad because I was the one that told Angel about him missing. Kind of a don't shoot the messenger type thing." The lie tasted foul in his mouth but it was out there now. He stops before he leaves and tells the rest of it blaming Logan for a second before Logan shut him down and told him that all he did was repeat some hearsay from his wife from over a year ago. Logan says so that is why when he asked Angel could he visit Josh she said he isn't really having people up there. Bradley says. "It could be, he's not talking to me right now, so I don't know." Logan tells Bradley to take the rest of the day off and that he would handle speaking to Suzanna and wrap up the site today because as good as Bradley is he didn't need any more melt downs." Lo, I'm sorry ok" Logan asked him to leave. Seeing that he was batting a thousand with his friend and boss right now Bradley says "Ok" and leaves.

Logan shakes his head as he watches Bradley get in his car and speed off the site. Sighing he says to no one "Now for damage control." He calls Suzanna into the trailer and apologizes, they soon wrapped up. With Mia and the kids at his house he figured he'd invite Bradley out for a beer. His own home was just starting to settle. After calling Mia and telling her he'd be out a bit longer than usual he calls Brad and invited him out for a beer. Bradley sounded like he'd already started. It was only 4 in the afternoon. "Where are you?" Bradley tells him he's at the Last Ride. "I'm on my way man."

That night, Bobby is startled awake he hadn't even realized he drifted off sitting in the chair next to Joy's bed. After much retelling of their past she went to sleep, he'd told her he'd watch over her. He briefly wondered what woke him, then it happened again. Joy was crying in her sleep. Is it time for more topical pain med to be applied, he wondered? Her bruises from the surgery and from being stabbed were healing at a good rate. He hated to see this. He starts trying to talk her down until she said something that shut him up. She mumbles "our little secret." She then speaks about how he and she was in danger from the mob boss. How she couldn't protect them. "Joy, wake up" Bobby says with more urgency in his tone when she stopped moving after putting her hand on the spot she'd been stabbed. She was crying in her sleep and it was tearing him apart.

Joy is brought into wakefulness with a roaring headache. All the memories that had been locked away, merged with the last few days and she could not stop the tears that flooded her eyes. Looking at her husband to be she says "Robert, I was in over my head. I don't even know why they sent us back to the scene after the extraction." She thinks of Niles, though she was sure that was not his name he was an agent of high rank. "Federal already had agents there that out ranked me by leaps and bounds. The reason that I was even selected comes back into question. I should have not gone back. Deon and his wife are going to be coming for me. The female don destroyed a man's life and then turned him against the government or at least they thought they had. She had a pregnant woman killed in her own driveway. Deon already tried with the fake hostage that stabbed me, she was just a pawn in his game." More fear struck at that thought "Oh God our child?" Bobby puts his hand over hers that she'd put to her abdomen and says that their child is fine. Relief seeped into her system easing some of the dread. She speaks again trying to make Bobby see "Deon isn't the same man as before." Bobby tells her that Deon was killed at the scene. "Listen to me, his wife though is behind bars isn't dead and she has power and influence. The man she tricked might not have been as undercover as he claimed." She was shivering with dread. Bobby sits on the edge of the bed and speaks to her. "I do have one more question. If not from the female don, who am I being guarded against? Please don't hold back I see it in your eyes. Just tell me why I'm in a no-com room like the one you and your father were in after the shooting?"

Though he wanted to insulate her. It was as if she'd just awaken and he really didn't want to tell her, but he would not lie to her. Getting up, he walked to the door and then turned around. Running his hands through his hair reminded him all to quickly why he'd not been able to back her up physically as his wound that was healing made itself known with a small amount of pain from lifting his arms over his head. Lowering his arms slower than he raised them and breathing out trying not to wince he says "Joy, I first got suspicious when your boss the chief said no to treating you. Luckily the system called and asked me. Luke's dad said that if you weren't listed as critical, I would not have gotten a call and it would have been like a DNR was set in place. When I went home to look for the photos Chase brought me up to speed. There is an investigation underway but it's not for him saying no. It's because of the lengths he went to find out if you lived or died. He without articulatable reason detained and attacked my brother Luke and threatened him to the point he lied to both protect you and save his own life. That is why you were moved to this floor and not allowed communications. We feared that with your memory like it was, that you would invite him up here or give some indication of where you really are within these walls to someone that could bring harm to you here. Chief Patterson, called multiple times after telling the system not to continue care. Since your attacker was killed it helped us keep you away from local level. There would be no reason to guard you from a dead woman. As of now my family and your immediate family that lives in Washington are the only people outside of your medical team that knows for certain that you survived."

Watching her mate, Joy noticed that Bobby had lost more weight and looked very tired. His words both scared and angered her. Prior to this case, she kept trying to defend Chief Patterson saying he was rough on her and had a lot of the old ways of thinking. But this new information was not what she was expecting at all. It was one thing for her boss to believe that women were inferior in a classically male dominated profession, it was another to have someone that was supposed to be like family try to kill you. "So, this case was supposed to be my swansong? I knew he wanted more men in the department and looked down on females but that doesn't make much sense to try even indirectly by refusing treatment when I desperately need it, to kill me." Confusion mixed as she continued "I did my job. I got Joshua rescued, that was bound to be something that the chief could celebrate. How is Joshua?" Bobby tells her of Joshua's progress. "That is at least good news. I am sure Angel is much calmer now." Joy's thoughts circled back to Patterson "I don't understand why Patterson would want me dead. Through giving the case to me, his other more skilled teams were not touched if I had failed. Me along with mostly my team who had not been out of their offices in years banded together and completed this case, we didn't fail. Oh god this is so much confusion." Bobby tells her his view that he'd been working out in his head both from some of the stuff she'd said in passing and when she spoke of him days ago when in her mind, she wasn't a Captain yet. "I don't understand he treated me differently because of what I am not who I am. He became my superior that should have squashed any professional jealousy." Bobby asked could they change the subject for a time. His question and tone provided her with more than his words did. She could see the exhaustion under his all to serious expression. "To what?" He says he needed to let their family know they could visit her if it was ok with her now that her memories had been restored. "Yes, it's more than ok. Before you do though, Robert, I must ask when the last time was you ate?" He shrugged looked down at his phone and said he had been busy. He then must have recognized the tone of the question. He says he was going to do better and for her not to start worrying about it. Within minutes of him hitting send Angel was at her door.

It is finally Rapture's off day he'd been mid-carded two times last week. He could still hardly believe he is a professional wrestler now. Storylines were getting heavier and made him draw more on the acting aspect of the craft. After taking his woman out to eat, he dropped her off at home with a new puppy that she'd wanted. The thing was so small he didn't want to pick it up for fearing that he might crush it like he'd almost done to a rabbit by mistake. With Cass at home loving on the hound he went for a beer with the guys. Not really wanting to hang at The Davenport with all the crap that just happened, he stopped at the Last Ride. As he entered, he sees Mark chatting with Paula at the bar, nods at them, and keeps on to a table to wait for Bradley and Logan. Bradley comes out of the pool room grumbling about a hotshot. Logan soon joins the table. Bradley was in a mood it was more than him losing a game of pool. He starts drinking or continues from the way Logan asked did he think he really needed more. Rapture starts talking about his two TV spots as a mid-carder. Bradley slams a few more drinks and starts talking about Joshua and Angel, and how they just took shit wrong. He painted himself as what he told Cass that he was just the messenger. Logan told him to cool it. Someone from another table starts agreeing with him. The guy was rocking a Scorned Angelic Impression jacket. Great, just what Rap needed, some idiot to fuel the stupid. The guy even goes so far as to come over and start really going in on Angel which Rap figured was the guy's agenda when he sat down at the table next to them since Bradley wasn't quiet. Bradley seemed to come back to reality and starts arguing with the guy. When he gets up and stands over the hater, the guy stands up and ask what Bradley's issue is. Rapture gets up and blocks Bradley's line of view to the former Angel fan. "Bradley, we need to talk. NO, not later now." Bradley walks back towards the pool room. "I got a better plan, let me drive you home." Bradley looks over at Logan and says he was going to head out. Logan looks relieved and says he'd get his car Bradley asks how he would drive two cars. Logan says he had Mia drop him off here just in case he had to pour Brad out of here at closing time. Rapture watches Bradley hand Logan his keys. "I didn't even think about you possibly driving away from here. Good looking out Logan. Let's go Brad." Hater had continued talking until Mark walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. The guy whirled around prepared to look down from his 6'0 and looked up at a very angry looking Mark. Hater nearly took himself out trying to back away from Mark who was wearing his patented The Undertaker death glare.

Outside in the truck, Bradley gets in and says the guy looked like he was about to piss himself. Rapture says "Hell, I can't blame the little idiot, I'm taller than Mark, but that don't mean I ever want to ever get on my former teacher's bad side. So, all that crap you were spewing, if I told you that Josh and Angel were going to hear it what you would think, since you were not very quiet about how you feel? You know everyone loves to record a spectacle on their phone and put it on the inter-webs, and for better or worse Personal Touch is big in this area."

Bradley looks over sharply. "You don't really think anyone was that interested in what I had to say do you? I mean I was just blowing off some steam. That guy just took it there, and I shut him down even before Mark came over." Bradley really tried to think of all he'd said and was having a time of it. He'd been between that pool room and the bar for most of the afternoon. Ever since Logan had put him off the work site. He hadn't noticed anyone with their camera on him while he was talking shit. The thought that Joshua or even Angel would get a preview of his ranting from tonight and take it as how he seriously thought of them made him feel sick. Or it could have been all the mixing of booze. Something wells up inside of him and he felt like he was going puke. "Stop the truck." Rapture pulled over, Bradley hardly makes it out of Rapture's ride before he explosively gives all that booze back to the earth. Now came the other stuff that wasn't so easy to get rid of. A deep wave of depression and guilt washed over his already tortured mind. As he looked down at what he sprayed all over the flowers and wiped his mouth, his heart felt heavy.

Rapture gets out and hands his friend a wad of fast food napkins, so he could clean himself up. Bradley takes them and wipes himself off where his aim hadn't been that great. "You once told me you were getting too old for the frat boy act you put on back there, what happened to that guy? I know you were pissed, but Bradley there is no cure for stupid. Face it, you did something stupid and unthinking in a moment of fear and misunderstanding. You were afraid for your brother we all get that, but what I want to know is why it was so easy for you to assume Angel had a hand in it? Now you knew her before I met her, how did this spiral so quickly?" Bradley starts in with Logan's part. "Joshua isn't all that happy with Logan either, but Logan wasn't the one that pulled the verbal trigger on all you and your family have worked to overcome. Logan may have even been the bullet, but when it comes down to it, you know, and I know, if you just hit someone with a bullet without a gun, it won't work the same. Your little ranting session in the bar didn't sound so good when it was repeated by someone else did it?" Bradley looks over and said he hoped no one recorded him. He'd fucked up and really didn't know how to go about fixing what he broke. "Look, it is good to be truthful with yourself, but here is something you haven't thought about. I have a question, you were back there talking like they had banished you for life. Without giving me a lot of bull tell me what exactly happened?" Rapture follows Bradley as he walks over and sits on a bench that was facing the park they had parked at. The fresh air was doing his friend some good. Brad tells him what Josh said and what Angel said. "Now I don't know about you, but neither of those was a don't ever talk to me again. You know what it sounded like to me?" Bradley shook his head, then covered his mouth saying that was a bad movement. "I'm sure the grass won't care if you have to give it some more booze, but seriously I think it had more to do with them just needing some time, that boy almost died. Take it from someone that has had the shit beat out of them to the point your fighting for your life. When I woke up in the hospital, the last thing I wanted to think about was anything that would upset me or my woman. Now you don't have to do anything I tell you, but I'd say just cool it for a while. Not the just not around them cool, where you go off on unsuspecting crowds, because what you are going to end up doing is getting that negative attention and someone is going to record the sheer stupid flying from your face, think about how fast that video of Candy getting hit by Deon to music spread, it will make its way back to Josh and or Angel and then you will run the risk of getting them to cut you off for good. You know Joshua better than I do, you just helped Candy and Joshua and Angel mend their relationship. Do not become another toxic part of their life. They don't need it and nor do you." They soon get back in the truck and Rapture takes Bradley home. As Brad is getting out of the truck, he looks at his front door and then back at Rapture and thanks him for talking some sense into him. "I just hope it sticks, see ya around buddy."

Over at Ivey Mansion, Janet dresses to get ready for school. This was going to be a long day. Today after her on site study with her accounts payable teacher she was going to meet Tony's adoptive parents. Mark was going to drive them since it was outside of city limits. More importantly, it was in Houston. Janet had spoken to her dad and her momma and they agreed that if by this afternoon she didn't want to go, then maybe they could reschedule and meet somewhere between Granville and Houston. Just when she was getting to be ok with meeting his adoptive parents, Tony told her his adoptive parent's address. She knew that street sounded familiar. It was a mere two streets from her dad's ranch which meant it was really close to the kids that used to go to school with her. She'd learned just how many of them weren't really her friends. Since her dad wouldn't drop the lawsuit against the parents of her attacker and his sister who was an adult, and the Fast Track School System for the negligent way they handled everything. Janet cringed at just the thought of running into any of them. Coming back to herself she shakes her head. She'd zoned out there just holding the brush to her hair. Seeing her momma in the refection of the mirror standing by her door Janet turns around. Had her momma been speaking? She was really in her thoughts there for a time. "Morning momma."

"Morning baby is everything ok?" Paula hated seeing her child's way too expressive eyes change. Janet tells her that she is still nervous but as of right now still wants to go meet Tony's adoptive parents. "I'm sure they'll love you. What's not to love?" Janet half smiles and grabs her laptop. Paula gets a call from the Nana Barnett Academy as they are heading towards the car. She is informed that school will not be on location today because of a bomb threat that circulated on social media from a former student's account. Looking at her big girl, Paula says numbly into the phone "Ok, we were heading out now thank you. I do hope you get that resolved quickly." Janet asks what was wrong claiming that Paula had lost the little color she had a moment ago. "Well you don't have session at school today there's been a bomb threat. Your principal says to do any online work that is due today and have it turned in by midnight. I'm going to call, your dad he gets these messages as well, and I don't need him thinking I took you go to school already, luckily, we were running late today. Or you would have seen me do the fastest U-turn ever done by a parent." Paula calls Mark he answered by asking had she received a call from the school. "Yes, and we are still at Angel and Josh's place." They talk for a time and Mark's tone relaxes as their conversation moves away from some idiot threatening to blow up the school. Mark asks her to tell Janet that he would be in town by 3 this afternoon if she still wanted him to drive her and Tony to Houston. "Will do, safe travels babe."

Janet texted Tony telling him that she wasn't going to school today and why. He replied that was insane and he was glad she was safe. He asked were they still on for going to meet his adoptive parents. Janet says sure. He called her and asked her was she ok. It made her feel like he cared though she hadn't meant anything bad by her one-word response, for him to see through it was touching. She waits for her momma to leave the room before continuing with their conversation. "No, I am mostly over fearing their reaction. I just had no clue you guys lived so close to Fast Track." Tony says for her not to fret over that considering her dad was driving them and it wasn't like they would be at the school at any time during the visit. "I guess you have a point there. I'm sorry I probably sound nuts for worrying about this stuff huh?" Tony tells her nah he worries about lots of stuff, but it is usually stuff that don't happen, but he knows in that moment it seems like the end of the world. They touch on lighter topics and soon end their call, so he could get back to his school work and she could finish turning in hers online.

Up at LEGNA, Jonathon meets with Gloria and Angel on a video conferencing link. "I've found and shut off all accounts that are no longer serving Personal Touch. I am absolutely convinced of this because I have had Robert try to infiltrate our server from the precise accounts that were there providing Deon with access." Gloria chimed in and asked why he hadn't told her of this. "There were accounts that were being rerouted through your portal. At first glance it looked as though you were sending the messages." Gloria asked did he really believe that she would do anything to make business bad on purpose. "We are leaving the point of this meeting behind. I will say Gloria, If I thought you were, I would have excluded you from this meeting about the findings." They continue their meeting and at the end Angel thanks her dad for continuing the investigation that she'd brought to his attention even though with everything that happened, she'd not been in the head space to handle business. When she visited Joy this afternoon, seeing her to be sister in law doing better helped Angel refocus. Now that Joy remembered most of the events that happened when Angel visited, Joy asked had the results came back from her program she'd sent through LEGNA's system, that is what made Angel ask her dad today. Gloria sent Angel a private message asking how Joy was doing. Angel replied that she would not comment on that on any public platform as of now. She then sent a copy of the transmission to her father. Her father may trust Gloria, but Angel was still on the fence. Gloria asked what shape her talent was in and would Personal Touch be able to make their upcoming tour. Jonathon spoke before the angry expression on his daughter's face became verbal output. "Most of the time I do place the responsibility on to the band lead, but in this case, I took the decision on and have another band filling in for Personal Touch on this upcoming tour. I sent it to Cassandra already." They close their monthly meeting and Jonathon calls Gloria into his office.

That afternoon, Candy wakes with a start. Feeling clothing on her head, she blindly feels around and opens the door. Looking around she sees that she is on the closet floor of the room Glenny stays in when he comes over. She'd freaked out and locked herself in here when Bradley came in late last night. He was drunker than shit and smelled of not only alcohol but also vomit. She'd been in the kitchen seeing him wasted like that made her nervous because she'd had the displeasure of dealing with drunk or high guys, in the middle of the night in her past and the shit was not fun. She'd got his earlier text that he was heading to the Last Ride with Logan later and sent back a smiling emoticon telling him ok and that she was just going to work from home. That was cool what wasn't cool was him coming in and singing BORNS's "Electric Love" and trying to push himself on her against the sink. Being both angry that he would get this shit faced and think she'd want a drunken screw on the sink, and afraid of possibly getting hurt considering he was being rough with her, she'd splashed him in the face with the cup of water she'd just ran for herself. When he started yelling and wiping at his already stained clothing, she'd ran up here locked the door. Hearing him break shit and call after her, triggered another response she hadn't got over since childhood, she'd hid in the closet and silently cried herself to sleep as she had in her past. The big difference was, where with her father and with Deon she kind of knew when they were flying high or tanked, Bradley up until last night had not given her any indicators that he was going to get completely trashed. He drank but he liked to be in control of himself. Last night, the Bradley she'd grown to trust and love wasn't in attendance, she could see it in his eyes as he lunged at her and it scared her. She couldn't do this again.

Bradley woke in a heap on the floor of their bedroom, looking around he wondered where Candy went. Getting to his feet he sways and goes in search of her. His mouth felt like a football team used his tongue for practice. His head was pounding, and he smelled awful he was starting to turn his own stomach. When he walks pass a mirror in the hallway, he does an about-face and heads to the bathroom to clean up. There was clothing, and broken glass all over the floor. Grabbing his hair, he pulled trying to remember what the hell happened. Shattered pieces of memory assault him as he showers. A particularly frightening one of him chasing Candy through the foyer stuck, and nearly made him slip as he tried to get out the shower and go find her. Yesterday was a total train wreck that he fucking caused. He had to make sure she was ok. He called her cell phone, following his ringtone, he found her phone in the kitchen on the floor. A wave of nausea hit him, and he wasn't sure whether it was the hangover or the fear that he'd chased her out the fucking door for good. The big question in neon lights running through his head right now was, why the hell was he chasing her? He gets dressed and searches the house half in a panic. When he comes to the guest room Glenny stayed in when he visited Bradley tries to turn the knob and finds it locked. Resting his head on the door jamb, he closes his eyes trying again to figure out what happened. He'd been doing such a bang-up job here lately with the people he cared for that he didn't want to continue that trend. He'd scared and angered Angel, pissed off Josh, and pissed off and disappointed Logan, all in the span of a week. He didn't even want to think about if what he ranted at the bar got back to his family. How to sink yourself in one easy step, be and idiot named Bradley, he berates himself. He called Logan and hoped his friend could help him. Logan shed some light on how he could find out what went down when he got dropped off. He walks away from the door and heads back through the kitchen into the mudroom and watched the last few times motion occurred in the common places of the house. Seeing himself shove and pull on her while trying to sing was bad enough, that he cheered for her when she doused his ass with whatever was in her cup. Watching himself get pissed and start yelling at her while slapping at himself made him wince at the look on her face. He saw it before it happened when he started shouting and advancing towards her, Candy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she ran. Bradley put his hand over his eyes, as if he could wipe away the look on Candy's face before he chased her into hiding in their own damn house. Looking around "I have got to make this right." He whispers to himself. He starts to clean up trying to think of how to approach this.

Hearing Bradley move around up here on the second floor Candy sits in the room. What was she going to do? She would have called Cassandra, but her phone was out there somewhere. Having no idea what to expect she goes to the door, peaks out and catches a glimpse of where Bradley had cleaned up the glass he'd threw at her seconds after she'd closed this door. Try as she might, to be rational, she had no idea what to do or what to say to him. She tried not to compare, knew it was a bad idea, but that behavior last night was way over the top his actions sent her triggers to the max. The "what if" parade plagued her mind with all kinds of scenarios each one worse than the first. What if she hadn't got the door closed fast enough. She would have probably got smacked with the glass he launched at her. Rational thought tried to help by saying It was an 8oz. juice glass, it would have hurt but at the very least unlike fighting with Roman, or Deon, she didn't think it would have rendered her unconscious. The most terrifying "what if" that made a home in her head, and chilled her blood was "what if" splashing him as a distraction to flee hadn't worked, what if he had caught her? Tears swam in her eyes. Soon he knocks on the door bringing her out of her thoughts with a start. The fact that she for a second thought of not saying anything. He would have known she hadn't left. "Yeah" He asked her could they talk. "I'm really not in the mood to talk to you right now. I hope you understand." He says that he understood and that her phone was on the hall table outside the door on charge. "Thanks." She says in a lower timbre of voice.

Inside the Sheldon Estate, Lucas Sr. sits at the breakfast nook staring out at the lake that set of the back of their home. Usually he sat outside, but here recently he stayed inside. After another long discussion about their future living arrangement, Ella walks out of the kitchen after just wordlessly watching Lucas close himself off. Ella calls Chase, her husband and her child weren't speaking, and she hoped that Chase could talk to Lucas. Ella had expressed her displeasure about the one-way decision to move to their island, but she was afraid it fell upon deaf ears. She couldn't speak to many people about it because most would not see a problem with moving to their island. Some would think of her issues as just an attention plea or ploy. It had only been one missed weekend dinner that her son had declined his open invitation though it felt like an eternity since she'd had her son over. She was happy that her daughter was retuning today and hoped that possibly Sophie could talk some sense into Luke. No, she didn't want to move to the island right now either, but both Sheldon men were just as stubborn as the other. "Thank you Chase I really do appreciate any light you can shine on the situation." Chase says she is welcome but for her not to think just because he spoke to her husband that Lucas would concede. "I'm aware that everything you touch doesn't turn to gold, but I thank you for at least listening to me and agreeing to speak with him." Chase calls her a charmer. They soon close their call, Ella waits in a sort of suspended motion listening to see if Chase will call or come by. She soon gets her answer as the house manager tells them that Chase Ivey had arrived. Chase starts light conversation with them both then ask for a moment of Lucas's time in private. When they head into Lucas's den Ella sighed releasing a breath, she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

Chase sits in the den with Lucas, "I've missed you at golf. If you wanted to join Ivey Club House instead of remain at Granville Country Club that would be fine." Lucas grunts non-committedly and stands looking out the window. "Lucas we have known each other for a very long time I know you are rattled but.." Lucas whirls round, his eyes alight with anger as he says that Chase had no idea how far beyond simply being rattled, he was. "I'm going to stop you right there. Last year my world got turned on its ear. You were at least abducted and valued to which they didn't want to bring harm to you. Also, they were to you strangers, no connection to your wife or child. My wife at the very least played with my life, like a cat with a fucking ball of yarn, three times that I am aware of. There was a time I thought about running, just going to my mother's home in England and never looking back." Lucas says that Chase was always more mentally resilient and flexible. "I'm glad the outer shell held up to the hype. Lucas, I know what you are feeling right now and I'm not here to tell you your next move I'm here to inform you that both your wife and your son is worried about you. I would be lying, if I said that your sudden dive into being a recluse isn't alarming to me as well. If you go down this path and move to that island it will never be as safe as you picture, you will always be thinking of more security measures. You will have turned your nice island paradise into your own personal jail cell. That's not fair to you or Ella." Lucas says Chase wouldn't understand because Sophia and Angel's ex-boyfriend are both dead. Lucas goes on to say before Chase can say anything in his defense, that there is still one of the captors walking about town and he couldn't go through that again. Trying to rein in his own anger. Chase says "Lucas, if I thought for one second that I could have prevented anything else from happening by fleeing you bet your ass I would have been on the first jet to London. Sophia's death and that of my abductor Braden just because their bodies were laid to rest doesn't mean that for almost a year, I wasn't plagued by fucking night terrors while cleaning up the mess Sophia left behind. I got help when the shit started affecting my everyday life. What you are missing is that there is an investigation underway. Logically, there would be no reason for the man that aided Joshua's father to come after you. His moonlighting employer for that job Alex, is dead. His other conduit to money for doing anything to you or Joshua for money is dead. There is no longer value in taking you or my son anywhere because the person that was funding this criminal activity was killed. When Wolfe, Alex and the other man's regular um employer for lack of a better term, found out what had been happening, he handled it, and in that result the guiltier party behind all of this was dealt with internally. The latter part of that I didn't tell you, and you didn't hear." Lucas nods his understanding and then says this shook him beyond anything he'd ever been through. "I can't tell you a quick fix for trauma, but I can tell you what works for me and that is therapy." Lucas looks over at his friend's admission as he addresses that Chase used the present tense. "Yes, I did. For me it was either get into therapy or lose all those that I love. I chose to get help before I ran my children and my mate away for good."

Over in Dallas, Sophie and Luke ride in an Ivey Transit from the airport back towards home. Luke had arranged to be driven to pick up Sophie instead of driving himself because of two reasons the first was he had not got much sleep in the week his mate had been away, and Sophie had refused to ride with Doctor Sleep-Deprived as she called him. He still wasn't a fan of going so far away from their hometown in a driven car, but he would not just send a car for her as irrational as it even sounded to his mind the fear that a part of the dirty cop clan would target his wife. As usual his wife had a point, he'd been sleep deprived for a while and had just completed a 46-hour uneven split shift. At hour 47 Sandra sent him a message asking had he fell asleep, when he'd replied that he just came from a meeting it wasn't long before she caught up to him and asked him to sign out or she would sign him out. Sophie asked him what an uneven split shift is. "Dr. Middlebrooks contacted you I see." Sophie tells him not to be mad just because Sandra was concerned about him. "Fair enough, I signed out at about the 22-hour mark, had a meal with Joy and Bobby up in her room, and then signed back in. Basically, I signed out long enough for the system to let me continue working without sending me off line automatically."

Sophie looked at her husband he looked exhausted. "Luke, from one workaholic to another, you have got to do better. In 6 months give or take, it won't just be us we have to stay alert and healthy for." He says he knows and just needs to get a few more things done when they get back. Sophie sided eyed him and said "No, we are going home." Luke breaks eye contact, and looks out the window, then starts checking the camera system. Sophie saw the uneasiness in her husband and really didn't know how to help him. She knew what worked for her after the limo crash, but Luke's ordeal was different because he'd been pursued, and attacked by a high ranking asshat with a badge. Sophie figured she would change the subject. "Bobby says that Joy has started remembering things." Luke launches into how he believed Joy's mind was trying to protect her. They soon arrive home, Luke grabs Sophie's bags leaving her to only carry her laptop case. They have a light dinner, and Luke asks her about how Adina and Gregory were doing. "In short, they are waiting. Gregory's mother will be in the states in about a week. Gregory is anxious about meeting her, I think he is afraid that he's being conned again. Conrad really did a number on his level of trust." Luke nods and says when he wakes up in the morning, he'll call Gregory and just be an ear or whatever he needed. "I think that may help hearing from you instead of just me and Adina."

Candy still felt anxious when she did leave the room to grab her phone. She heard the front door alarm beep and say that it was open, she watched as Bradley walked outside. She wondered briefly if he'd turned up the sound because it usually didn't sound so loud. Was that his way of letting her know where he was, she wondered? After calling Cassandra she felt better because Cass slowed the "what if" roar in her head down to a mild purr. Cass asked her what she wanted to do and said make sure that she thought about any avenue she took. Looking out the window again after getting off the phone she glimpsed Bradley sitting on the porch swing on his phone. With him still outside Candy decided that she would take this time to shower and changed in to real clothing. One thing she never wanted to do was start a possibly difficult conversation in her freaking night clothes again. Her thoughts briefly went back to how well that worked at her old house. She stopped that train of thought Bradley had scared her, but he was nowhere nearly as nuts as Deon had been and to compare them in that way would be wrong. After darting to the bathroom and noticing that Bradley had cleaned up all the glass and whatever else he'd broken last night made it easier for her to shower without having to look at the evidence of last night's storm. She wanted to go to him. She knew she had to do this. She looks outside and found that she didn't have to worry about him interrupting her shower, he was still outside sitting on the swing. She was cold, she didn't think that was all due to the outside temp, so she grabbed her hoodie Angel had ordered for her and went to the front door.

Bradley sat on the swing he built out in the front yard, on the phone with Cassandra. He'd called her since he really couldn't talk to who he wanted to talk to. When he saw the light go on in the bathroom he wanted to go up and join Candy but him not wanting to send any more fucked up signals stayed outside. He'd turned up the system, so she could hear when he went back in the house if he had of went back in before they talked. Cass really ripped him a new one verbally. All she gave him room for was yes and no answers. Did he want to tank his relationship, no. Did he understand how nuts it was for him to go after her like that, yes. If they couldn't work this out what was he going to do. He'd thought about it a lot and answered his sister as he'd told Joshua before. "Cass, if this falls apart, I think it will really just be time for me to get lost. Maybe Texas isn't where I am supposed to be."

Candy leaned away from the door when she heard what he said. She knew right then and there that she didn't want them to end. She didn't want him to leave or feel that him coming back around his family was a mistake. He sounded just as afraid as she felt. Taking a deep breath, she walks from behind the door outside and he must have seen her because he got off the phone and greeted her in his usual way with a hey. "Hey," looking into his whisky colored eyes was her calm. He looked like she felt. Sleeping in a 4 by 6 closet will do that to you. "Thanks for my phone and for cleaning up." He nods and puts his phone in his shirt pocket. Now that it was not in his hands, he restlessly put his hands in his front jean's pockets. His body language said so much without him having to say a word. Not wanting to just stand here in the front yard staring at each other Candy finally musters the courage to speak more than a greeting. "Bradley, I must ask, what happened yesterday? I got the text about you meeting up with the guys and thought that great he needs a break. You scared the holy shit out of me. It's going to sound weird, but that wasn't you last night. You never get that plastered, or at the very least you hadn't around me. Please don't do that again. As someone that has done a lot of shit she'd like to forget while super drunk, I know where my cut off is. I can't go through that again. You have come so far, almost two years clean from drug abuse. Don't trade vices, if this is what is happening get help. Hell, I'll go with you. I want to be with you, but I can't do that again. It brought up way too much of my past and sat it right in front of me last night."

Bradley wanted to hold her, he wanted to say and do so much, but Cassandra told him to let Candy lead. He was trying to do just that. He'd came out here to give Candy space. He'd suggested that he go for a run or a long drive to clear his head, but his sister said he'd appear to be running away. He didn't want to do anything to further screw up this relationship. He'd did a heck of a job of that last night. "Will you sit with me please?" She was standing ram rod straight. He hated that she was anxious, but he understood. Looking out at the property, he says as he takes his hands out of his pockets. "Last night, I lost my shit in a major way. I'm so sorry, I can't even express how sorry I am. I'm sorrier that I scared you. You asked what happened, from the time I sent the text until I showed up last night. As you know I screwed up bigtime with how I handled the Joshua and Angel thing. It's been weighing on me more than even I thought. Yesterday at work, I was extra to my crew to the point Logan put me off the site. I was out of control, in one weeks' time, I turned my own world upside down." Candy asked what that looked like to him. Bradley gives a humorless laugh and says "You are starting to sound like my therapist. I'm not saying anything negative about that just sounded familiar is all." Bradley then verbally walks Candy through the past week including, the things he felt, the actions took to ease the guilt, and how that ended up backfiring. Candy made a sound but said nothing when he spoke about him losing his shit at the bar. "I know, I possibly made it worse. If that shit gets back to them, I'm afraid I've done irreparable damage to a relationship with my brother that I never even would have thought possible two years ago. I can't even think of why I would think Angel would cheat on Joshua no matter who was talking. When the guy at the bar started agreeing with me and talking about hot sheet gossip about Angel and Josh, I defended them, because as Rapture said, no it didn't sound good when someone outside of me started trashing my family. I was throwing a loud pity party for myself and made myself look like a fucking idiot, because I was the one leading the charge about how horrible they were to me which is all bullshit and lies. The truth is, if it wasn't for Joshua and his relation to Chase, I wouldn't be alive right now. Hell, he went out of his way to make sure I was taken care of he went up against mom and though he never asked for any kind of repayment. I managed to repay him by letting Megan's off comment to Logan over a year ago about Angel, someone she didn't like to guide my fucking tongue in accusing my sister of cheating on my brother in a time when his fucking life was in danger." He was getting loud and saw her flinch when he raised his voice. Wiping a hand over his face and pausing to calm his tone he turns back to Candy and says in a more conversational tone. "I can't even be there for him, like he was for me, because I added to the toxic situation. Last night after Rapture saved me from the stupid flying out of my face, his words not mine. I get home to our place that we are building to be a safe, peaceful place and scared the fuck out of you. I'm so sorry Candy. I know I can't erase what I did, I wish I could, but life don't have a reset button. I put both of us in danger by drinking like that. When I watched what I did and your reaction I came to the door to make sure that you were ok, or as ok as you could be after I lost my shit. Your fear that it will happen again, please don't think of this as an empty promise, but that isn't going to happen again. Thank you for stopping me. I don't know what I'd do if I had of physically hurt you. I already feel like shit for scaring you. I've been feeling like I'm sinking even though I'm the one that shot holes in the boat. I love you and want us to continue to build our life together."

Candy teared up. In his words she heard his pain but unlike the others Bradley admitted his wrongs all of them, he wasn't hiding from them or blaming her, he tried to dull the demons of his bad decisions and it backfired. She was afraid and explained what was going through her mind last night when he came in trying to fuck her on the sink. She revealed the triggered parallels that drove her into the closet when she looked him in the eyes and all she saw was anger. "I want us to work, I heard you before I came out here, and I don't want you to leave. It's not even that I don't trust you. I'm more afraid to trust myself. I love you, but I'm scared Bradley." She gets up and sits closer to him putting her head on his shoulder looking out at their yard.

"I want to make this right, I don't want you to leave or be afraid if you stay. I love you too. I get what you mean, I too am used to running or staying too long. I want, you to stay. Believe me, I get that fear. All I can really say is that my actions will speak louder than anything I could ever promise. The words I'm sorry no matter how heartfelt are so small, but I got to start somewhere. Babe, I am sorry. You mentioned the fear that I'm just trading addictions. I'm not going to trade one addiction for another with my personality and my past, I'm giving up hard liquor, especially when my emotional gird is this off balance." She wrapped her arms around his waist and that is where they sat just holding each other in an easier silence than when they started speaking. After watching the sun set, Bradley noticed she was shivering and looks at her face to make sure she wasn't silently crying or anything. "Are you cold?" She says yeah, a little and asked if they could go out for dinner. "Sure thing, babe."

Janet sat in the passenger seat across from her dad, they were on their way back to Grandville South. Tony's adoptive parents made him stay. That bummed Janet out, and pissed off her dad and Tracy. The entire visit was weird. Tony introduced her dad and her to his adoptive parents and they went from smiling to something like a forced smile. This was Tony's week to be with Tracy, but his adoptive parents called Tracy up and told her that they would drop Tony off instead of him just riding back with Janet and Mr. Callaway. Tony was just as surprised as everyone else in earshot of the phone conversation. Her dad had said that he wasn't taking her back over there. "I'm sorry dad. You already don't get to spend a lot of time with…."

Mark wasn't going to let his reaction to Tony's adoptive parents being rude and pissing him off ruin how his first born saw him. "Janet, I was never mad at you. I got hot under the collar when his father kept staring at you and when his mother kept asking you questions that was none of her damn business. I saw it making you unconformable. I don't think of anytime I get to spend with you as a waste. I'm glad I agreed to bring you, if your momma had of been in there, I think things would have went south a little quicker." Mark says with a smirk thinking of how Paula had been in his ear piece demanding to speak to the heifer. His current wife loved and protected his first born just as she did their twins and for that he would always be grateful that he took a chance and remarried after his first wife died. Not wanting this to be a total waste of a day with his daughter he pulls over to the side of the road. "You feel like driving us back?" Seeing her beam from ear to ear improved not only Janet's mood but his own as well. They traded places and he watched with mirth as Janet took their driver music choice rule as the gospel as she looked at him and changed the station from country and had the truck system sync with her phone minutes later as they pulled on to the road, Joshua's voice from the Davenport Lightening CD blared through the speakers. Mark couldn't even hear himself think Joshua hit a guitar solo and Mark says, "I don't mind your song choice but turn it down." Janet touches the button on the steering wheel and brings the music down to a manageable level so that she would be able to hear him easier than him shouting to the top of his lungs. The song cuts off and a ringtone chirps through. Mark looked over to see if his daughter was going to honestly answer the phone while driving, he was pleasantly surprised.

Did she want to answer her phone sure, but they were on the highway which for her was something that needed more of her attention to watch out for nuts that weren't paying as much attention. Without breaking eye contact with the road, she hits the volume button twice and a ding is heard. "Call you back smiley face driving." When she glanced at her dad he was smirking. Pushing the button to resume the music she grins as well. He asked what if she didn't have the controls on the wheel. "Then it would have been annoying, but it would have rung until I at the very least got to a spot that I could look at my phone namely not on the highway doing 75mph." Her dad chuckles and says good answer.

Over at Chase's home, Nikki comes in the back door and dashes up to her room. Tony had called her a bunch of times. That wasn't like him. He knew her school schedule better than she did sometimes. Calling him back while changing clothes. She gets an earful. She stops in the middle of pulling off her shoes. "Wait, you're talking too fast, what happened? I'm sure it can't be that bad. Oh, why would they act like that?" She could hear the confusion and repressed anger coming from her friend. When he says that his adoptive mom was thinking that maybe a reunification with his birth mother wasn't as great an idea based on seeing his girlfriend and recognizing that she looks like Megan. "They are related and heck not to sound mean, but that lady was way off her meds before she died. Bottom line Janet is not like Megan was at all. How did Janet take the weird relation questions and your pop going from his normal nice persona to "Mr. Stare-N-Glare at her" I'm sure Mark wasn't too happy with them making Janet uncomfortable."

Tony rubs a hand over his nape as he sits on the back porch of his adoptive parent's home. "Nikki, I messed up big time, I invited Jan here and for 20 minutes my mom either asked personal questions that Mark shot down or had Jan looking like she was going to start crying. She was already scared about meeting them and they just gave her a reason. Mark stood up at about the 15-minute mark and said they were leaving that's when my dad said that they could go anywhere they wanted, but I couldn't go with them. I came with them have traveled to local shows. Now I must wait until my mom gets here just to get her to drive me back to Grandville. For the first time since I got here, I don't want to be here." His adoptive mother calls him. "Hey, I have to go, not trying to tick anyone off more, but this blows huge chunks. Their basing all this on looks. Janet don't even look that much like Megan and my original situation should have already showed them you can't pick the people you are blood related to huge example my birth father. Here I come! Ok got to go, call Janet for me please." Nikki says he bet his ass she would be calling her girl. "Thanks Nikki, bye."

Paula is working in her office on site at the Last Ride when Tracy briefly knocks and enters talking a mile a minute. Paula knew this was coming the minute Mark called her with Tony's adoptive parents ranting and raving in the background. They were acting like Megan herself had walked into their home. The disrespect was a lot for Paula to hear and not be able to tell the bitch off. Hearing Mark shut down the conversation so thoroughly at one point made Paula smile. Mark let a lot of things slide or did his best to, but one thing he didn't budge on was when it came to his daughters, herself, and his kin, he could be even more a bear than he'd been today. Paula didn't doubt for a second if she hadn't of been on the phone and told him to just bring her baby home, that he would have either still been there telling them off, or behind bars for trying to knock some commonsense into them. Now a very upset Tracy paced in front of her desk asking would she please go with her because she wanted to go and get her son. Paula agreed for two reasons one she didn't need Tracy crashing with as upset as she was, and two she wanted to find out all that was said before Mark had called her. She was already deciding on whether her speaking to Tony's parents would help or not. She knew she had to have a cooler head and not just go Bezek like she wanted because that could just make things worse. First, she had to try to calm Tracy down. "Tracy, I need you to take a breath. Yes, I'll come with and you can tell me on the way there what happened and why you are so upset? I know why I am upset with them, but why are you?" Tracy tells her about how his parents. Paula cuts her off and says firmly "Adoptive we have spoken about this you are his mother but go on." Tracy explains about how Tony's adoptive parents were saying that she had him in a dangerous environment and maybe they should not be moving towards reunification if she was just going to put him back in harm's way. "That is a bag of horse mess. Tony is less afraid of his own shadow because of his connections or friendships here." Tracy agreed and added on to it by saying that Tony was less jumpy and more open to going out in public or talking to people and not just behind his computer screen. As they get in Paula's truck Paula says, "Though I don't agree with how they handled their first meeting with my daughter, I think we both need to have a sit down with them and get to the bottom of this in a civil manner. If we both go there pissed, it wouldn't solve anything and could make things worse for Tony." Paula sends Mark a message before pulling out into traffic telling him where Tracy and she were headed and why. He sends back be careful and that he'd be at Angel's place if she needed him. She types back that she is always careful. She then pulls out and heads toward the highway.

Tracy nods as she stares out the window as the scenery changes from Grandville South to North and onto the highway towards Houston. Turning toward her boss and friend she says "Paula, thanks for coming with me. When I heard how upset he was, I just froze and felt powerless which in turn pissed me off. At first, they said they were bringing him home, then switched it to I had to come get him."

**Authors Note:** Thanks for reading and as always please review I welcome comments, questions, or anything you'd like me to clarify. I also would like to say posting was delayed due to out family growing so now that our new additions have made it into the world safely, I will be posting more regularly: **End Note**


	5. Chapter 5 Combatting Bloodline Bias

Chapter 5

Combatting Bloodline Bias

Back in Houston, hours before Paula and Tracy would arrive Tony walks into the living room of his adopted parents Mr. and Mrs. Bonner. Tony says, "You wanted me?" Ruby Bonner asks him was he ok. He wasn't ok he was trying not to show how upset this day had made him. "Um, sure" Clarence Bonner walks over and sits next to him and says for him not to start lying to them. "Fine, I just don't get why you guys freaked like that." Ruby says that he didn't tell them that he was dating a part of the very family that put him in danger. Tony looked away from them and says, "That's wrong and not fair, my birth father caused this. Megan didn't properly do her job, but Janet has nothing to do with any of that. Megan is dead, so is my …Anthony." His adoptive mom said it was a shock that he would seek out a part of the family that had anything to do with it. They weren't listening to him. There were lots that he wanted to say but a lot of it wasn't his story to tell. He wasn't the only one mistreated by Megan. She'd hurt or mishandled her position in order to hurt a lot of people he cared for.

Ruby saw that Tony visibly retreated further into himself. She asked him questions about who approached who. He gave shorter and shorter answers until at one point he gets up and sits on the edge of the reclining chair. He did this when he was nervous. Her husband at one point shook his head at her. He then asks Tony was Janet the young lady he called asking about what to do to show her he liked her. Tony nodded. "So, you were interested before you knew she was related to the Megan?" Tony says they wouldn't like his answer if he answered that. "Try me." Tony flinched. "I'm just wondering why Tracy would agree to letting you date someone like that?" Tony mumbled they didn't know Janet. Clarence says "Tony neither do you. You didn't see the look on her father's face. Do you really want to put yourself back in a situation that can turn volatile?" His wife started speaking and when she said that is why they were thinking of reporting this to the court that Tracy was willing to let him venture into possibly dangerous situations. Tony says they weren't even trying to understand, gets up and runs upstairs. Anger flared in Clarence's tone as he shouted. "Anthony get back down here this minute." When Clarence stood to go up the stairs, he heard what sounded like something heavy being moved. Clarence felt instant remorse yes, he wanted his son to come back downstairs, but he'd lost his temper. He hadn't called Tony, Anthony since their first talk. He also knew what his son had just did. The sound was Tony barricading himself in his room an action he'd done a lot when he first moved in with them but as weeks turned into months he'd stopped. Ruby puts up a hand telling him not to go after him. "Yes, you're right the last thing I need is him trying to climb out of the window again."

Up inside of his room, Tony pushed his dresser in front of his door. The look on Mr. Bonner's face when he stood up sent him into flight mode. He hadn't yelled or anything. What he said was true they weren't even trying to understand. When Mrs. Bonner mentioned stopping the process of letting his birth mom get him back fulltime pissed him off and scared him as well. Getting a text from Jan just sunk his mood even more. He replied and waited for her reply.

Janet C: Hey if us being together is going to cause you to lose your mom I'll understand if you no longer want to be with me.

Tony: No please don't say that this is insane. I don't even want to be here right now. I'm sorry this is all my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here I'm so sorry. Jan please don't break up with me.

Instead of texting back Janet calls him. He answers, and she asks why it sounded like he was in a tunnel. He explained what was said and how he reacted. Hearing that he'd locked himself in his room and even thought of scaling down the side of the house made her tell him if he ran away it would make it worse not better. He says he just didn't want to lose his chance to be with his mom or her. Janet tells him running won't solve that and besides her mom and his mom were on their way if he was worried about Mr. Bonner losing it on him. He apologized again. She tells him to please stop apologizing like he set this all up. She says he didn't know that the Bonners would lose it like that. He says that was true. She asked where he was in the room. He says he was inside his window seat cabinet. After talking about other stuff, the tremble had left his voice and she heard the lid to his hiding place open. That calmed her down a bit and he thanked her for talking some sense into him. Janet hated to hear how upset he had become, but says he was welcome. He then says that her mom's truck had just pulled up.

After introductions are made Paula, Tracy, and Ruby goes into the den. Paula remained quiet as Ruby spoke. When she asked how Tracy could let Tony date a part of the family that caused so much discourse. "I'm going to have to stop you right there. I'm a part of that family. My daughter is related to Megan but that is the only thing they have in common. We can't pick who we are related to by blood. You are being very closed minded right now." Ruby says that Paula's bias was showing. In a calm tone Paula tells Ruby that she too had a lot of issues with Megan and so did Mark. She goes on to say since Mr. Bonner was so interested in stereotyping her husband here is what he missed. Paula tells them how vastly different Mark and Megan were from each other and how Megan had mistreated Janet and a little boy that Paula also loves. "Megan was sick. I use was because she is dead. You both here thinking that my daughter is out to get your son in some cosmic pay back is immature at best. You as god fearing Christians should be ashamed of yourselves. So, when I look at Tony should I think the same about him, being Anthony was his father?" Tracy winced, Mr. Bonner snaps no that would be wrong. His words slowed down, and he finally says he saw where Paula was going with that.

His wife started to defend her stance, but Clarence put up a hand and says. "No, Rudy she's right. We did the same thing as your parents did to me." Ruby says that was different he was way different than his mother and father. "Which is what Mrs. Callaway just said."

Ruby thought about that and reflected on how she treated a little girl that she didn't even know. "I have been so angry at a Megan and all the trouble she caused that when I met Janet it was like the meetings all over again." As the haze of transference washed away remembering the actual interaction that happened three hours before, Ruby was aghast at her own behavior. Tony had been in such good spirits and now he'd locked himself in his room. She'd seen how him going with Tracy and going out to pubic venues with his girlfriend was improving her adoptive son's overall confidence. Something Tony had mumbled came back to her. If she was honest with herself Janet didn't resemble the older woman as much as her angry haze made it seem. Janet was smaller in stature and her eyes was a crystal blue also the structure of her face was a bit different. If anything, Janet looked like a smaller version of the man that had come with her. "Wow with exception of eye color and her smaller nose she looks more like her father than Megan. No matter who she looks like I shouldn't have treated her so badly. You're right my husband was raised by abusive racist and he is the most nondiscriminatory and selfless men I know. Please forgive me and I thank you for coming."

Tracy asks to see Tony. Mr. Bonner tells her just a minute. When he goes upstairs and knocks on the door to Tony's room more shuffling could be heard. "Tony open the door son, Tracy is here." Tony soon opens the door, but does not look Clarence in the eyes, he watches him and walks back a few feet. Clarence walks in and says they needed to talk. After reassuring his son that he would not have brought harm to him and that he and Tracy and Janet's mother had finally talked some sense into his wife and himself, they soon head down stairs. The minute Tony sees Tracy standing in the foyer, he runs to her hugging her. He buried his head in her neck as his entire body shook. He whispered his fears that the Bonners were going to keep him away for her for good, between sobs. Tracy rubbed his back as she fought back her own tears at seeing how upset her son was by all this.

Ruby moved closer to the two and tells Tony she was wrong for saying that in front of him, and that she is sorry that Clarence and her misplaced anger and guilt about the Megan situation manifested and ruined what should have been a nice day. He nods but doesn't let go of his mother.

The drive back to Ivey mansion was uneventful. Tony sat behind Tracy and Paula drove. As Paula is dropping them off at Last Ride Tony asks could he come with her. "That's up to your mother." Tracy says she was fine with it. After another round of Tracy thanking Paula for going and helping her not make things worse. Paula says, "Honey, I lost my cool the moment they started speaking but, I knew I had to rein it in. I'm just thankful I didn't make it worse." Tracy steps back from the truck, waves, and walks up to her apartment. Paula pulls off and Tony asked her if she believed the Bonners. "Well, from what they said and that's all we have to go on is their word, I'd say they were being genuine. They scared you huh?" He nods and looks out the window.

Harold who had been working the Conrad case, and trying to contact Andrew to talk him into turning himself in before time ran out and he absolutely had to list Stark as rogue, is asleep in a hotel that his agency used for agents in the field away from home. He gets a call from a number he didn't recognize. He answers in his detached tone "Commander Sean." No answer. "Hello"

Ian Sean, Harold's son speaks quickly but quietly into the phone he'd barrowed from his friend. "Dad, I can't talk long but can you please come home?" His father kept the detached tone that made him often wonder was this a good idea. "Please I know we fought before you left, and I was really out of control but there has been a lot going on since you left. Some of it I know you know about but... Dad please, I don't know what else to do or where else to turn." Ian tried to keep the emotion out of his voice. "She is my mother and I love her, but he almost put my fucking head through the mirror. I got the cut-up forearms to prove it. If I hadn't of put up my arms like Uncle Mark showed me last year. I would have gone head first into mom's dresser mirror. I know I said stupid shit to you before you left and that was stupid and… I got to go he's here."

Harold was so angry hearing the distress in his son's voice that his own words froze in his mouth, by the time the action part of his brain caught up and he yells "Ian, don't hang up" the call ended. Leaving him alert and pissed beyond measure. Harold jumps up and nearly crashes into the ajar bathroom door, as he rushes around the hotel grabbing clothing and his weaponry. With all the rushing around he was out the door before he'd picked up his key fob for his rental. That moment was needed, because as he ran back in the hotel room and franticly searched his pockets and looked in unusual places rational thought and procedural law crept in to him as he held the end of the bed up looking under the wooden base that his key fob would not have fit under. Harold slowly puts down the bed and takes a breath. He had to first not run in without a plan. He had no more data than what he son had told him. Yes, he would get to the bottom of this. But he needed a cooler head before he charged into something that could backfire as quickly as a domestic dispute. He knew if he went into that house right now the fucker that put his hands on his son would be dead before morning. That train of thought collided with another tactical one because if he charged in and the man killed his wife or child trying to get away, he'd never forgive himself. Harold had to use his head not purely his protective nature. He had to calm down. Going to the desk he pulls up the camera system installed both in his cars and inside parts of his home.

Up inside of his room, Joshua looks out at the setting sun as he does exercises to strengthen his hands and feet with a physical therapist. The shit hurt like hell but when Dr. Middlebrooks told him that there was no permeant nerve damage done, he asked what he could do since standing was still an iffy process. Yesterday just walking to the bathroom he'd almost brought Angel to the floor with him when he took a step wrong and it seemed like pain took all the air from his body. The doctor assured him if he continued the exercises he would improve faster. Hearing Angel's side of the conversation with their dad and Gloria just made him want to get better even faster. He had lots of respect for his dad and felt bad for letting him and the band down since preforming right now was not going to happen soon. After his session with the physical therapist was finally over Bobby came in and greets him "Hey."

Bobby says hey and then says, "I told Angel that I would come up here when Joy recovered more." Joshua asked how Joy was doing. "She's sore and wants get out of here. I'm just glad that everyone including my kid are ok. How are you holding up?" Joshua tells him that he is doing better. "That's good, Angel went to go get JC." Joshua says he knows and was glad because he really wanted to spend time with him. He continues by saying before Bobby can speak that he knew it was for the best since the place they kept him wasn't the cleanest and they had to make sure he hadn't contracted anything. "Yea, Angel said your skin was pretty much ripped to shit when you got here." Joshua asked had Andrew surfaced yet. "No, but most of the team that was with him that night have been questioned and transferred to other states. As soon as the paperwork comes back the contract will change, and Joseph will be leading a more privatized security force for dad and the rest of the family. Since dad is the mayor my contract will not change, well when I'm fully cleared to reenter the field that is." Bobby hadn't missed the nervousness that came from his brother when he spoke of the room. He wanted more than anything to tell Joshua that Andrew had surfaced. "We are going to bring him in Josh." Joshua just nods. Angel enters and for the first time since he arrived, Bobby saw Joshua's face light up with a genuine smile as Angel handed him JC. After chatting with Angel for a time. Bobby heads back up to Joy's room.

Joshua held his son and talked at him and was content until his strength started fading and he had to hand JC back to Angel before his son wriggled out of his grasp. JC was displeased that his contact with his dad was broken as well, and he showed it by letting loose a cry that broke Joshua and Angel in two. Joshua thought of something and let the bed back more so that he wasn't sitting straight up and asked for JC again. Angel placed JC on Joshua and he almost instantly started to calm down as he now lay on Joshua's chest. Joshua placed his hand on JC's back to stop him from rolling off him. "Hey little guy here I am. My Johnny Chase daddy's here."

As Angel watched father and son, she thought of the fact that this was the first time in almost two calendar weeks that JC had a chance to even be near his daddy. In a brief silent moment, Joshua looked up at her. Joshua comments that JC was getting so big. The smile that lit her husband's eyes at the comment was a lot better than the terror in them this morning after yet another of Joshua's nightmares. Dr. Middlebrooks had held off on letting anyone under the age of 10 into the room until all the lab work came back clean. Angel saw that Joshua was getting winded with JC laying on his chest and went to pick up the baby. Joshua minutely shakes his head and mouths "He's fine." Angel stopped her forward motion when she heard the telltale lip smacking that cued that JC was almost asleep. Moments later they both hear little snores Angel carefully picked up JC and placed him in his padded stroller.

Joshua was tired, but it was a good tired. Today he'd done physical therapy and had a chance to bond with his son. After the monitors and neck brace were removed it had taken a few days for him to get up the strength to start moving around. Letting his son lay on him was great until he started getting winded. He missed JC so much and apparently his son had missed him as well if that roar of a cry he let out when Angel tried to take him before he'd laid the bed back and was able to let his son just lay on him was any indication. "It's really amazing how much he is growing. He sure didn't get the extra inches from me." Angel puts a hand over her head and says it must be the McBride in him. She says that at his doctor's appointment today JC weighed in at 16.9 pounds and 30 inches long. Joshua chuckles and says, "If he keeps up that rate of growth, he'll be taller than dad and Mark by the age of 16."

Angel says, "I don't know think of how long I was taller than Sophie, then I went college came back to visit during my first band tour and like magic, I was looking up at my baby sister."

Back near New York, Harold approached his home. He'd seen more than enough and had brought back up. The team wasn't for his protection in the sense that he would need it from Officer Stanford Ryan the man that had beat his son Ian for trying to stop him from beating on Natalie. Harold put up a hand and pulled his key. This was still his house, damnit. Harold entered and called out to Ian. His son came running towards him, just as he was mere feet away Harold saw movement and turned gun drawn and ordered Stanford to stop advancing on his son. Ryan stops but starts talking shit about how this was his family now. "Ian, walk towards me son." Ian looked back at Ryan who told him not to, then back at him and slowly walked towards him. The fear was coming from his son in waves. Harold watched Ryan for any movement. "Officer Stanford Ryan as of now there is a STOP team present. If you attempt to move from the spot you are in right now you will be depopulated." Ryan says he is an agent as of two days ago. "Where is Natalie Sean?" Ian starts to speak. Ryan yells for him to stop lying.

Ryan stood frozen to the spot and spoke in his Jumper Squad voice. "Commander Sean my wife is sleeping, and I would appreciate very much if you would just leave. Right now, you are trespassing." The kid wouldn't shut the fuck up. A muscle in Ryan's jaw ticked. He watched as the commander for this area raised his other hand and two men entered. "You don't want to shoot me, I have done nothing that would warrant this behavior. You are angry at me for sleeping with my wife." Harold tells him the reason he is here is that he was tipped off that an officer under his command was assaulting and battering a part of a government family. "That's just not true. My stepson has a very vivid imagination I assure you."

On the inside Harold screamed "Look at his fucking face and tell me that again." Ian had a busted lip, a swollen left eye, and scars running up and down his forearms. On the outside he said in his detached tone that he'd reclaimed. "No, he doesn't, but we can settle this at the compound." Standing beside him, Ian kept up a fast dialogue begging hm to please check on his mom. Harold was becoming worried, what he'd seen on the camera and what he was seeing right before him were two different realities. He also knew that Nat didn't sleep hard and she would have been down here when his team pulled onto the road, she knew what their vehicles sounded like they were not noiseless. 12 diesel engines coming down a quiet suburban street at this time of night, were hard to ignore. Also, Ian was not quiet, and no matter how she felt about him Harold knew his wife loves their son. Harold tells one of his agents to take Officer Ryan into custody. He moved forward and pulled Ian behind him as the agent went for the officer. In quick fashion the agent unarmed and cuffed, the officer that tried to move out of the agent's reach. As they walk toward him Harold meets Stanford Ryan's glare with a neutral gaze and says "That could have been very deadly for you, had you of drawn that weapon." Harold moves up the stairs to his bedroom. Ian walked behind him filling him in on what he would have missed on his camera system that only picked up in the common areas of the house. Seeing that fucker drag his son out of his bedroom minutes after the call had disconnected made Harold want to charge in here and just shoot the mother fucker. Turning to his son he tells Ian to wait out in the hall. He'd seen where they were separated, officer Ryan had pushed Nat into their bedroom and locked her inside then came back and finished beating on his son until Ian managed to hit him hard enough to temporarily stun him and run. At which time, Stanford returned to what used to be his room. When Harold made it to the house, Stanford had been in the bedroom with Nat for at least 15 minutes alone. Harold didn't get the eerie alone feeling that training had given him to cue when he was walking into a room with the dead. He didn't get that feeling but would not trust it enough to let his son follow him into that bedroom. Harold turned the knob Natalie was in a bad way, she lay across the bed her clothing torn and her body bloody. He moved further into the room and spoke into his shirt-com to his team. "I need a Med crew at this location ASAP." Natalie only flinched at his voice but made no other movement even to turn towards him. He rounded the bed and saw that she couldn't have come down stairs if she wanted to, the fucker had handcuffed her to the bedrail. Her eyes swollen, mouth was bruised, and she'd been gagged. That explained the labored breathing that was not his own. The only other time he'd seen something like this was when he'd rescued human trafficking victims. Harold pulled his key and unlocked the cuff from around her wrist. She didn't move she just stared at him wide-eyed breathing heavily around the gag that had be no doubt forced into her mouth. Pulling his swiss army knife, he gently pulled the strap away from her cheek that held the ball in place, instead of trying to move her head and disconnect the harness looking contraption behind her head where it was no doubt fastened, he cut the rubber. It quickly unwound from around her head. Her first words were a raspy question spoken through bruised cracked lips. She'd said their son's name. "Ian is safe." When she tried to speak again it turned into more of a seemingly painful wheeze. "Save your strength." She opened her hand Harold put his hand in her open one. Her other hand was now wrapped around her blood soaked middle. The med crew arrives he let go of her as he watches them get her on the gurney. He walks out of the room following the crew as they carefully retract the wheels and carry his wife down the stairs. Ian stood in the corner of the hallway where he told him to stay. "Ian?" that one word broke his son's resolve as tears ran unchecked down his face. His son grabbed him in a hug and whispered over an over that he tried to stop him. Harold hugged his son back and says with more bravado than true confidence in his tone. "I know son. She's tough, she'll be fine."

As they head towards the door Ian stops and says "Dad about last time you were here um, I'm sorry. At the time I was mad and really didn't know what to do with that emotion. I wasn't paying attention in school, and you were right that teacher had really nothing to do with it. I knew the secret and believed that I had to keep it. I wished you were here more so that you could see what I was seeing, but you had to work. I understood always had but, it still made me angry. You already know about me getting stopped after you left. After you left mom told me that I wasn't grounded as long as I kept the secret." His dad asked him where he was going the night he got pulled over. "I got into trouble because I was driving too fast trying to keep an eye on mom and Stanford when I shouldn't have been. When the police stopped me, I thought that's it I'm for real never driving again. He had me conned there for a while. Stanford made the charges and my file just go away. On paper I was never on that street, I never broke curfew or the speed limit. I checked the system that you use. Looking yourself up is kind of scary."

Hours later, they sat in the waiting room at the Harrison and Sheldon Medical Center. The Department of Defense's contract with the hospital chain was a direct influence of Luke Sheldon's visit to Washington D.C. last year. Lucky for Natalie Jean Lynn-Sean being still married to him, she could get the care that she would require. He researched to see if Officer Stanford Ryan had in fact been awarded a promotion to agent. He had not, which meant that if their divorce had been final, Ryan's plan would not have covered Nat. Harold did not think the leading medical center would turn her away, but the bill would be astronomical or when he called for a med crew, she would have been taken to the nearest county med center instead. Waiting was never one of his strong suits. Harold rose to his feet and Ian asked was he just going to leave. "Ian, half my team is at the compound and as much as I would like to sit here and let my thoughts wonder what caused all of that," Harold gestures to the double doors that separated them from Nat, "I still must make sure others are safe. As of right now I'm not leaving the center, but if I do don't think I'm going to leave you here. Officer or Agent I don't want to have to contemplate Stanford Ryan trying to make a retaliation play." Ian asked but isn't he under watch at the jail somewhere. "Yes, but there are ways around that and that's all I will say on matter."

Jackson Knight owner of Knight and Day Trucking had read the paper and kept up with a story that had received a lot of attention. He'd just buried his son. He thought of his grandson, that was a stretch to call a perfect stranger grandson, but it was truth. If the stories were true, his grandson was a performer that had a brush with death due to his own son's poor choices. Jackson or Jack for short, sat back and tapped the end of an envelope on his temple. He hadn't ever met the young man personally but had trucked product to the tavern that he owned. Hell, if it could be shipped on land from Texas, Jackson had probably shipped it. He was and always would be a Grandville South resident. The things the news said about his son weren't a surprise until they mentioned his child. If the age of the young man was correct it would explain why he had no idea his son was a father. Shortly after Alex turned 17, he dropped out of school, Jackson tried forcefully making his son go to school and his son retaliated in a way that severed their relationship forever. Jackson would never forget the day he lost his wife and youngest child. He came home off a long haul to flames. It was revealed that Alex burned down the house. That fire spread through the house too quickly his wife and youngest son never stood a chance. Alex spent only 6 months in jail. Some friends of his got him a lawyer that won his freedom through an appeal loophole. Jackson hated the justice system. When Alex discovered that Jackson had moved while he was behind bars, he got angry, but Jackson would never tell his son where he lived. Months ago, Alex found him and showed up at the newest site of Knight and Day Trucking begging for forgiveness. Jackson tried because his wife would not have wanted him to keep such hatred for his own offspring for nearly three decades. Jackson foolishly thought his son had in fact changed. Just when he was starting to trust his son, he caught Alex trying to steal a shipment one night. Jackson had heard a noise and went to investigate, he'd walked out onto his receiving bay and could not believe his eyes, his own son that he had been trying to forgive was aiding two men take a truck full of computers that were to be delivered to Ivey Enterprises. Jackson threw his own safety to the wind and ran out on the loading dock and pointed his Desert Eagle at the now adult that bared his last name. He yelled that if Alex as much as stepped foot on his property ever again he'd blow holes in him and his fucking men. Knowing that Alex was dangerous by what he'd done in the past, Jackson had hired a security company that was suggested to him by Chase Ivey. Jackson gets up and puts on his jacket he wanted to meet the young man. Jackson gets to the hospital that had been in the news for weeks now. When he asked for Joshua Davenport's room, he was asked for his ID. After turning it over to the woman he watched as she sent it through a machine. "I can assure you I'm of age." He nervously joked. The woman made no attempt to honor his humor with even a smirk. When she handed the card back to him, he was once again surprised when she told him he was not on the approved visitor list, he would have to either come back when he was approved, or he could meet with one of Mr. Davenport's approved med contacts. "I'll stay put." The woman asks him to have a seat, and someone would be down to speak with him. "Thanks" Jackson says as he sits in the ground floor waiting area. Though he didn't know what to expect when he looked up and saw a camera following his movement, he wondered who was watching.

Chase had come to visit Joshua this evening while Angel was at LEGNA. She hadn't hidden the fact that she kept putting it off because she didn't want to be so far away from him for so long. Joshua had told her to please go and help their dad. She and JC had even Facebook called him to tell him when they got to her office since he still didn't have a phone. He really wasn't in a rush to get one right now. During a comfortable silence after speaking with Chase, the system informed Joshua that he had someone requesting a visit. Joshua looks at the screen and the name on the ID made him nearly drop the handheld device. He couldn't blame it on a spasm. The last name seemed to jump off the screen tunneling Joshua's vison for a second. Chase asks what was wrong. Joshua looked away from the screen sharply. "Dad someone with the last name Knight is here requesting to visit me. I've seen him before, but I don't want anything to do with him. I know the name Knight isn't rare, but I don't think I'd survive a round three if he's here about what happened to Alex."

Chase takes the hand held and instantly recognized Jackson. "He's a local business man that is my only guess on where you would have seen him son." Thoughts that were not very pristine invaded Chase's mind and tone. "I'll go see what he wants, and then tell him to get lost." Joshua says for Chase to please be careful. "Always, goodnight son." Chase exits the room, "Joseph, with me." Joey stands from the seat he'd taken outside the room and is soon at Chase's side asking what was wrong. As they reach the end of the hall and step into the elevator, Chase says, "There is a man here that wishes to speak to my son. There are also a lot of things I will not tolerate. Joshua is afraid that this man that bares the same last name as his birth father is here for some type of round three. Joshua need not worry, because if Jackson Knight gives me any indication that he is in line to hurt my son I will shoot him my fucking self."

Joey stops the car's decent; Chase eyes him. "No Mayor Ivey you won't. If you or I find that the gentlemen is dirty, I will be the one planting him back in the ground. We talked about this, let me do my job." Chase says yes, they talked about a lot of things, but he'd be damned if he let that happen to his family again, he goes on to say that he couldn't afford to drop the ball again considering that it was a miracle that his son and daughter survived. "Beating yourself up about choices you made to protect your family wasn't you dropping the ball. The Agent that kidnapped your son and the people in that house were and are the only ones that deserve that blame." Chase says that is what Joshua said. Joey smirks, hits the release for the car to continue its decent, and says, "Smart kid" Joey pulls his phone "Got the last name, what's the first name?" Chase tells him, and says he knew of the man not from any connection to Joshua but because of his trucking business. Joey types in his system and calls one of his men to do a deeper search. As they get to ground level Joey asks, "So, do you really think this guy is dumb enough to come here wanting a fight of sorts?" Chase tells him the dark thought that ran through his head. He explains that all of this started at a public venue that uses Knight and Day Trucking. Joey didn't want his friend to just let emotion lead him without logic. "Chase let's not put the cart before the horse here. This Jackson character knowing what kind of food and drink your son sells isn't grounds to think he had anything to do with the chain of events that took place that night. I get it, trust me I do, but shooting at shadows isn't going to make this case any less outrageously complex. We got lots of questions and lots of people involved that are confirmed to have had a part in it. If this guy turns out to be thickheaded enough to come here wanting blood, he'll be mopping his own up off the floor."

As Jackson sits watching the camera move with him, he sees Chase Ivey and a slightly taller man walk in. When Chase walks towards him he stands and greets him. "Mayor Ivey congrats by the way." Jackson put out a hand. Chase takes it tells him to call him Chase and pulls him close asking him what he wanted from Joshua Davenport. Jackson pulls his hand free with a bit of effort and stands back. He'd been on the other side of this steely wolfish glare before in board rooms across the state. "I don't want anything thing from him Chase, I…" Chase cuts him off and says then he would not mind leaving and not returning. "If that's what he wants." Jackson reached in his breast pocket for the envelope and instantly stopped when the taller of the two opened his jacket revealing a gun shaking his head. "Chase it's an envelope, not a weapon. I found out that he's my grandson. I didn't even know my son had a child until all this shit hit the papers." Chase tells him that he had better produce an envelope when he removed his hand from his breast pocket, or his brains would be donated to the floor. Jackson saw that the taller of the two had not taken his hand off his own gun. Knight slowly pulls the letter he'd written to his grandson out of his pocket and hands it to Chase.

Chase opens the letter and reads it whiles standing in front of Jackson, looking up and meeting his gaze every so often. "I can tell you now he's not going to want to see you. No matter when I give him this letter. I'll also say Jack if I find out that you have some nemesis plan in the works that deal with my son, I will put stop to it."

"I read you loud and clear, I would expect nothing less. As I said in there" Jack points to the letter, "the ball is in his court. Goodnight gentlemen." Jackson walks out of the automatic doors. He takes a deep breath. He didn't know what to expect he surly hadn't expected to see Ivey. He guessed with the young man being a local celeb Chase wasn't taking any chances, what the hell he thinks Jackson would want from Davenport, an autograph. To Jack's knowledge he'd never done anything that would earn such mistrust, but these were crazy times and he'd seen a lot of the Ivey family members in some sticky situations in the last year or so. That thought sparked another one. Did Joshua send Chase down to send him away or was that Chase just being protective? Well he wasn't going near Ivey for a while and what he'd written was the truth the next move would be on Joshua. He didn't have to worry about running into the young man because he didn't drive his trucks as much as he did when he first started the business, he had people for that. If Joshua didn't want to talk Jackson understood and would keep out of his grandson's way.

Days later over at LEGNA, Angel and Cassandra go through pictures that Angel would be approving for drop label photos. Usually, Jonathon or Gloria were the only ones that signed off on these, but her father had a few meetings and asked if she would do it. She agreed after Joshua put her out of his hospital room again reminding her of the promise, they made to help Jonathon so he wouldn't have to be over taxed and pulling all-nighters anymore. Today was the longest in two weeks that she been away from Joshua. This latest ordeal had not only given him nightmares, but hers were also back as well. The night Andrew took him merged with when he'd been taken by April. Images overlapped she'd woke in a cold sweat to Joshua shaking her. She'd looked up, met his gaze, and a calm stole over her that helped her get her racing thoughts back under control.

Cassandra noticed that Angel was out to lunch in her head and waves her hand in front of Angel's face. "Earth to Angel," it took a few seconds for Angel to snap out of wherever her mind had gone, and shove Cass's hand out of her face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, what were you saying sorry?" Cass asked her had she heard from Bradley. "No, I haven't since he visited Joshua the first time." Cass asked how long they were going to be bad at Bradley. Then goes on to say that everyone made stupid mistakes when they were stressed. "Look, I get that he is your brother."

That irritated Cassandra. "He's yours too we're a package deal remember?"

Angel says "I know Cass. For now, can we please table this heart to heart. We still have photos set to approve." They had been at this for hours and Angel wanted to get done so she could run JC by the house since Sophie wanted to watch him tonight so Angel could go back up to be with Joshua. Cassandra says in a snippy tone sure they could table it but putting Bradley through this was not right. "Ok, I'll bite, putting Bradley through what? I haven't said or done shit to him." Cass says exactly and he feels bad for what he said he can't go back and undo it. Angel sits back in her seat away from her desk and looks at Cass. "I asked him, and I'll ask you what he wants from me?" Before Cass could say anything else, Angel's phone rang Joshua's hospital line was ringing through. "Hold that thought," Joshua spoke of Alex's father coming and attempting to visit him. "Are you ok?" He says yeah that the guy sent him a letter and he'd just read it. "What does he want?" Joshua says on the surface it sounds like he just wants to meet but even that is up to him. "How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know, on one hand, he may have answers to questions that weren't so important or that I hadn't really thought about. On the other hand, if this is just bait for the next move on his part, I don't want to get taken out for believing that a part of my bloodline isn't fucking nuts. We've talked about this and your view about how me getting separated from Brenda and the Smyth family was one of the best things for me because I didn't take on their personality traits. I can't agree more. I'm afraid to trust anyone outside of our circle right about now though. When dad gave me the guy's letter, he said he'd investigate the guy's past more and get back to me. In the letter, he claimed that he was robbed of ever knowing that he had a grandson. I got questions that no paper trail can really answer, but I just can't go about this the wrong way, the price would be too high if I'm wrong."

"Did he leave a number? If Dad gave you his letter, he must have met with the man downstairs." Joshua tells her who the guy is and the fact that Chase recognized him as a local business owner. "Really, did the guy ever work with you?" Joshua says he really wasn't thinking all the clearly when he saw the I.D. the last name kind of freaked him out. Dread crept in her voice. "What's his name?" Joshua tells her Jackson's name. Some of the ice of her dread melted. "I know of him, he used to deliver for dad but that's about it. Candy or Vash for sure since he's been there so long may have been at the club when Jackson delivered product to The Davenport maybe ask them if they got any weird vibes from him." Joshua asks her was she near finished at LEGNA "I'm about done here for today. I'm going to go meet up with Sophie, make sure she has everything for JC, then I'll be back up there." Joshua tells her to please be, then stopped speaking. Angel knew how that common phrase of care played through Joshua's head, especially when speaking to her. It was one of their things that had been tainted by the fact that the night Andrew lost his fucking mind on her husband, she'd told Josh to be extra careful. She wanted to reclaim their speech and not let the past taint anything else for them, so after a breath she answered in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, "I will babe. See you soon ok, love you." He says he loves her, and they end the call. Angel starts signing out of her programs after saving their progress.

Cassandra watches as Angel starts closing down the programs and says "We only have five days to get this approved, any longer and I'll be left with the bare minimum to choose from and If Jonathon or Gloria kicks one of the image batches for whatever reason I could be in trouble. Are you listening to me Angel?" Angel looked back at her and says Cass wouldn't get in to trouble because Angel was the final word on this project so if anyone got called to the carpet it would be her. Angel closes her laptop and folds it into her desk locking it and rises to her feet heading to collect JC in the little room that set off her office. "So, you mind on telling me if you're done, or are we doing more tomorrow?" Angel says she'd be back tomorrow. "Ok so what has my little brother sounding so freaked out?" Angel sighs and says it wasn't nice to eavesdrop. Then tells Cassandra what Joshua said about a possible grandfather coming out of nowhere. "I say don't trust it. Aside from Joshua, his bloodline doesn't have a good track record with not being completely psycho. Perfect example his birth father showing up out of nowhere, stalking him, trying to extort shit from him, and then having him kidnapped." Angel says she's sorry she even said anything and walked into the little room and closed the door behind her putting an end to anymore conversation.

Angel walks in and picks up JC as she talks at him and gets him ready for travel. Her thoughts were filled with lots of snippy one-liners that would not have did anything but probably brought the crazy bitch in her sister in law. All three of their families had mental defected members in them, that did not mean they were all criminally nuts. That thought was a slippery slope into thinking of her own mother. JC brought her back to the present rapidly, as he pulled a lock of her hair that had worked its way out of her ponytail. "Ouch," Angel giggled and started tickling him. "ok Jonathon-Chase let go." After managing to get her hair out of JC's fist as he giggles from her tickling, she wipes any possible hair product off his hand with a diaper wipe and finishes getting him ready.

Harold sat in the room with Natalie, Ian was over on the stuffed chair asleep. Originally there was supposed to only be one person allowed in here at a time. The hospital made an exception for him. Harold looked down at his wife. Gone was Natalie's tan, it was now replaced by a brutal paleness that didn't even look human. What wasn't pale was ripped or bruised black and blue covered in white bandages. It took her 18 hours in surgery and another 2 hours in recovery to just be moved into this special ward of rooms for critical patients. When she was at the house her oxygen level was so low that the doctor said if she had not of been rescued when she had, she would have died in her bed within the hour. Harold tried not to think about the fact that Stanford, one man, had caused all this damage to a pregnant woman. She was farther along than Harold thought, the baby was in the infant part of this wing born three months too fucking early and fighting for its own life. There was punctures in Natalie's lungs and one of her kidneys that had to be repaired. She had bleeding on the brain. She still wasn't out of the woods. She was in a fucking coma. Her brain activity falling was what scared him the most. Four broken ribs and a ventilator breathing for her. Even with as much as Harold was mad at Natalie, he could have never beat on her. Let alone hard enough to put her in this condition. The fucker had almost caved in her chest, abdomen, and head. Tubes, so many tubes carried things out of her and put things into her right now, she looked more like a science experiment than a person.

Ian turned over and almost falls off the stuffed chair. The bandages on his wrists and forearms were nothing compared to what Stanford had done to his mother. Getting up and earning his father's alerted sharp gaze back at him he says quickly. "It's just me. How is she?" His father mumbles no change. "I'm going to go see the little girl." His father says he is coming with. "You don't have to." His father surprised him by saying he wanted to because no matter how the baby came about, she was the only purely innocent one in all of this. All this time Ian figured that his father would hate the child because it wasn't his. He then thought of why he'd think that. After he turned 18, Stanford raved about Ian needing to get out of their house and how he really couldn't stand looking at him because of how much he looked like his dad. What confused him was when he ran away Stanford made him come back. His dad called it a power move. He talked more to his farther in the last day or so than they had spoken ever. Today his father was going to the compound they had kept Stanford Ryan there without so much as questioning him. Ian hated his fear that the justice system would let that monster out into the world again. His father had said once the proceedings was over his hands would be tied if the agency didn't put him behind bars Stanford would walk. That scared him for two reasons because he'd seen the restraint it took his father not to carry through and blow Stanford away in the living room when, he'd attempted to stop Ian from going to his dad when he was called. Ian had stood watching his dad standing with his gun trained on Stanford the red dot on his chest and that icy detached stare in his eyes. Ian knew in that moment that if Stanford had of taken another step towards him, that his dad would have shot him. The other reason was, that even though Ian had stunned Strafford by elbowing him in the forehead in their fight enough to get away he worried if there would be a next time. If so, next time Stanford would not forget the defensive move and be ready for it. Ian had needed that surprise tactic to get away. Without it, he couldn't win in a fight with Stanford. He'd hadn't won that fight, he'd ran, and Stanford had hurt his mom more, which was why they were fighting in the first place. His dad recaptures his attention pulling him out of his thoughts, they walk out of his mom's room and down the hall. The little girl was so tiny, if they would have been able to hold her, she would have fit in one of his hands. Ian had never in his life seen a person that small. The only babies he'd seen were his twin cousins. Ian watched his dad, as he watched the baby inside the incubator. The spell is soon broken by the buzzing on his dad's phone. Back was the detached look and tone as his dad gave orders to part of his team and informed them that he would be at the compound soon.

Over on the out skirts of Grandville South Sophie, JC, and Luke heads towards the Sheldon Estate. Luke was driving he'd insisted that he wasn't hiring a service the rest of this week. Sophie was learning to pick her battles when it came to how head strong her husband could be. He had at the very least got more sleep since she had returned from her travels. He no longer lumbered around the house looking tired and wired. One thing she would not give up on was talking to Luke about making amends with his father. Both men were stubborn she got that. At times she and Chase had their moments, but they had not gone this long without talking things through. It was going on a full week and a half and Luke was being difficult. She'd finally threw in the fact that him avoiding his dad was upsetting his mother. Sophie knew it was truth but also knew that Ella's feelings was one of Luke's vulnerable points. It was a shit move, but it worked they were on their way to dinner to hopefully get the two Sheldon men to speaking. Ella had called her this afternoon after inviting Luke over and having him graciously decline again for the 4th time.

After a nice meal and JC getting all the attention for most of the night. After finishing their dessert Ella suggested that she and Sophie go see if they could get JC to sleep. Sophie says, "Yeah if we can get him to sleep, he'll sleep through the night." They enter the den and Sophie takes JC and starts feeding him what should be his last bottle for the night. "Hey, there my greedy little man." As JC drinks his bottle, Sophie felt Ella watching her and looks up. Ella comments on how she can't wait to be able to hold her own grandchild and ask Sophie how she has been doing. "I've been tired, but ok." They both listen to the guys out in the dining room. When their voices carry over their normal tone of voice.

Luke and his dad at first enjoy their dessert, a tiramisu that Sophie made earlier in the day. Lucas puts his fork down and looks at his son. It was apparent that the ladies had gone in the den to give them a chance to speak. For most of the night their conversation and attention were geared towards Sophie's nephew and talk of scheduling tests to see what the progress and the sex of his grandchild would be. Luke and he speaks at the same time. Luke sits back and waves his hand for him to speak. "I'm glad you've come tonight. I'd wanted to further discuss what we spoke about. As for my decision to leave the country, it was born purely of fear someone pointed out that I could never make the island as safe as I wished without further imprisoning your mother and myself and even that would not guarantee anything but depressing both of us. Your wish for us to remain until your child is born. At the time Luke I just wanted out of here, off this piece of land, it had nothing to do with you son. It seemed that you didn't understand and that was not a correct assumption. From your own ordeal I think we both were reaction driven more than logic-based action. I had just found you in your office hold up like a hermit and it reminded me so much of myself years ago. Hearing what was done to you just further made me want to run. I'm not going to stand here and tell you all is well and that I no longer fearfully glance in my rearview, but I have moved back in to driving my own car. It's been rough and when I sat back and watched what I was doing to your mother I couldn't in good conscience keep up a dialogue that would continue to upset her. She has always backed me on most anything that I wanted to do no matter how insane it seemed. Watching her and listening to her come undone was hard. I never wished to upset you either, it surly wasn't my intent. I do hope that we can move pass this in an amicable way."

Luke says "Dad I agree that both of us were driven by sheer reactionary impulses. I at the time thought that with everything that was going on that you are leaving was something that I thought of doing so many times after returning that night, but I thought that if I could combat the impulse of flight surely you could. It wasn't fair of me to shut you out when you were putting into motion my own desires for flight. No, I didn't want you to leave still don't, but I went about it entirely the wrong way. As for moving passed this, absolutely. I am sorry for pushing you away." His father says that he understood Luke's impulse to protect himself from the abandonment he must have felt. "Get out of my head." Luke says pointing at his temple and then back at his father, but his tone was one filled with mirth not anger. Changing the topic to one more comfortable for both, Luke says, "We've ordered a tech to come to the house. I'm not Sophie's obstetrician, but her doctor agreed to do most of the prenatal care at Ivey Mansion. The last year has really cemented our decision to keep people involved in this journey to a minimum. We are even discussing whether to have a birthing room set up at the house." They talk and his father gives him lots of pros but a few cons as well. They end their talk when Sophie comes back out of the den and says her ears were burning accusing them of talking about her. "Of course, we were dear." Luke says as he recounts what they'd discussed about possibly keeping all baby care within Ivey Mansion. Ella joins them, soon all are speaking and having a much better time than the tense dinner where everyone focused on JC and not on the two stubborn men in the room. At the close of the visit Luke insisted on carrying JC while Sophie and their parents walked to the car. Luke puts JC in the car and fastened him in, when he stands back up his mother hugs him and whispers her thanks for them coming. "Thanks for having us." He then shakes hands with his dad, and they head back to the house. As they are turning in, Luke looks over at Sophie and says, "Thanks for keeping on me to go and hash that out with dad. It turns out, that we both weren't listening to each other and let fear and impulse guide our dialogue." They head inside and get JC in his crib and head to bed Luke wrapped around Sophie and almost immediately was asleep. Sophie texted Ella and told her they made it home, Ella texted back thanking her and wishing them both a goodnight. Sophie then followed her husband into slumber.

The next morning Candy was up cooking breakfast Bradley had a late start this morning. The site wasn't far from their Dallas home. Her phone rings, and she rushes to grab it. This was the first time Joshua had called her she'd saved the number to his room phone in her phone with no real hope that'd he call. Especially with him nor Angel talking to Bradley right now. Thinking of her mate seemed to make him appear since seconds after the thought Bradley walks into the room hears Joshua's music and walks back out of the room. She answered before Joshua's call went to voice mail while looking at Bradley's retreating back as he headed down to the gym in their basement. Holding back a sigh she answers, "Hey bro, how are you?" Never the one to make a lot of small talk Joshua says he's better asked how she and The Davenport was doing, "I'm ok I got a message from Vash that Larry is back at the club starting tonight. I don't know why Larry didn't call me, but he at least called one of us. Though he is a little apprehensive about returning. Vash said he'd do part of the shift with Larry just to make sure he is really up to managing an entire shift again." Joshua says that Larry's reaction is understandable because it was going to take him some time to get back to himself there as well. "Yeah, I get that." The image of blood in Joshua's office and then finding out what really happened made it hard for her to enter the management lounge after not being there for a few days. Joshua then surprised her by asking about Bradley. Words caught in her throat how to answer this without brushing either their feelings off. Going with the angle that she would not step into the lion's mouth at all she answered in a generic way by saying, "Um, he's ok." Joshua says good and moves away from the topic by asking her about a delivery person. "Oh, the old guy with the trucking business yeah he hasn't delivered personally in a while, but we get our local brews and things of that nature via Knight and Day Trucking. We've also started using them to ship our The Davenport Frozen Hot Wings to the stores, that product is selling great by the way." Joshua says really. Candy looks at her latest invoice and reads off, "Yeah we sold three crates worth yesterday. The fact that you and Chase came up with that sauce recipe while arguing about who's sauce was hottest is insane, but it worked." He asked would she host an owner's meeting later. "Sure, I'm going in to do the schedules today anyway." He says great he would be able to log in through the laptop Sophie brought up to him. "Great." They soon end the call. Candy goes in search of Bradley and hears him working out. She walks down in their home gym to see him lifting weights. He stops when he sees her and asked what Joshua wanted. "Hmm, I not really sure why you ran down here but he called asking how we and the club were doing." Bradley corrects her and says Josh more than likely asked how she was doing. "No, he asked about you it surprised me too ok." Bradley asked her what she said. "I said you were fine, I mean I really don't want to get in the middle of anything or upset him. I was just as surprised that he called as you were." She asked why Bradley vanished from the room like that. He says in case she went to a video call he didn't need Joshua hanging up on her if he saw him. Sighing Candy says "Bradley, Joshua knows where I live, and with whom I live. It would not be that big a shock for him to think you were around, please don't do this to yourself. Breakfast is ready by the way let's get some food in you. I don't need you falling off any equipment because I didn't feed you."

Mia had finally done what not many people could do, she had convinced Logan to take a day off. When he wasn't on one of his work sites, he was driving his cousin Kevin that had just got out of the hospital around. Logan felt somehow responsible for Kevin being shot. He said all the right things to his family, but Mia could see it in his eyes every time he looked at Kevin. Logan and Kevin had not been on good terms before Kevin got shot in the head outside this very house. When her mate wasn't playing driver for his for now wheelchair-bound cousin out of guilt, he was adding on to houses, buildings, pulling 20 hours shifts, or finding things to do to keep his friend Bradley in a good mood after some family drama hit. Mia had asked what the drama was, and Logan had shut down on her telling her that he didn't want to taint her view of anyone involved that she may know or come to know. Mia had seen where the band leader Joshua, Bradley's younger brother had been kidnapped recently but he'd been rescued so she didn't think it had to do with that part of Bradley's family. She'd stopped asking for fear that she would piss Logan off. As calm and chill as he could be, she'd seen him angry and didn't want that directed her way ever again. In the past month or so Ethan had started home school and loved it. Glenny was also taking classes through a Pre-K computer program that was for his age and skill level. She hated that Ethan was struggling and had spoken to Ethan's online teacher about testing him for a learning disability. He could read all the words in the booklets assigned to him, but when you asked what he read he could not answer, or he'd say he didn't know. Seeing him flinch as if she or Logan were going to hit him, both broke her heart and pissed her off. It broke her heart because his reaction was a learned response of his past pain that he had endured from the people that took him. This angered her and Logan because they both had witnessed how out of hand an abusive parental figure could get. Logan spent lots of time helping Ethan. One night when Logan came back to bed after getting Ethan calmed down from a night terror, Mia said it was like Logan had all the answers when dealing with Ethan. Logan revealed more about his married life and the fact that sadly he knew what to watch for because of his experience with finding out about Glenny getting hurt by Megan, Logan's deceased wife. Mia stood in the doorway just silently watching Logan go between Ethan and Glenny, helping them with their school work. They were working on spelling words, Ethan spelled the word animal wrong and flinched when Logan reached to hit the backspace button. Logan gave Ethan a hint and a trick to remember how to spell the words and Ethan was back to his goofy self. They made up songs for each word and by the end Ethan had spelled almost all 20 words correctly.

Bach in New York on the federal compound nicknamed the complex, Harold and his son Ian exit his truck and head inside. One of the executive secretary officers that ran the front office buzzed Harold in. She stopped Ian and asked him to relieve himself of any weapons and prepare to be searched. As Harold put his gun in his locker and locked it, He watched Ginny O'Leary search Ian. His son was also relieved of his phone and a necklace that Harold had not seen in ages. When Ginny went to put them in a bin for articles that they would send away instead of return, Harold walks over and emptied the bin in a plastic bag. "I'll take those." Ginny looked at him for a breath of a minute before saying yes commander. Harold then put the bag in his locker. Ian walks alongside him towards his office. This was the first time since Ian was about five that he'd come to work with him. Ian asked why his necklace was an issue. "What set the scanner off, was the compacted ash inside. You'll get it back, if I were you, I just wouldn't try to come here without me, or you would not have it returned. I had no idea that you still carried it." The locket was a 22 Karat white gold two chambered heart that had an engraved image of Harold on one side and an engraved image of Natalie on the other side. When both halves open the complete message written on the outer side could be read that simply said "Family". Under both halves was a chamber that held ashes from Harold's parents on his side, and ashes from Nat's mother on her side. Harold had it made while he was away on a mission overseas. He remembered all to clearly, giving the locket to his son, upon Ian's completion of middle school. Ian reveals that he never took it off for fear of losing it. "I understand son. I thought you were more concerned about losing your phone there for a minute."

Not knowing if his father was serious Ian says "A phone is replaceable, I was just glad I didn't have to lose the locket. No offense dad, coming here without you isn't on my to-do list." His dad says none taken. His dad gets a text message and then tells him to stay put in the office then he was gone. Ian sits in his dad's office chair it had been a long time since he'd been in this building, he turns on the screen off to the right of the door and watched what must have been a feed of the building. His dad was if not top agent in this place he knew that his dad was high ranking. Felling voyeuristic as he watched the agents and officers walking in and out of buildings on eight screens, he switches channels and nearly dropped the remote he'd stumbled on to the access of the integration room. Stanford Ryan had to know where the camera was because he looked right at Ian, or so it seemed. The door opened and his dad walked in. Ian wanted to turn the channel but another part of him would not allow him to hit the button. His dad started in that detached tone as he asked Stanford Ryan questions that would no doubt be a part of the trial if this went to one. Ian had forgot just how calm and detached his father could appear. He referred to his wife Ian's mother as Natalie Jean Sean, or the hardest for Ian to hear after seeing his mother was when his dad referred to her as simply the victim. Stanford tried to rattle his dad but unless you knew Harold Sean you would never pick up on the barely noticeable tick in his jaw.

Over at the hospital, Joy is released and Bobby is pushing her in a wheelchair down to Joshua's room. Joy had wanted to visit him since she regained her memories. Bobby would not let her out of her room even when she was cleared to walk. As they roll into the closed-off hallway and wait for Joshua to let them in Joy looks up at her mate and says, "After we leave here, I'm getting out of this chair." Bobby says fine he'd carry her. "Robert that is not funny." He asks who was being funny. Joy groans putting her hand to her forehead.

The door into the hall buzzes, and Bobby stops before heading into the room and stoops down so he is at eye level with her. She looks at him and is about to say something when he says. "Joy it was hard as fuck watching you get back to where you are now. The fact that your cocksucker of a boss is out on probation, scares the shit out of me, I could have lost you. So please excuse me if I want to do everything I can to keep you safe."

Joy looks away from him and says "Bobby I wasn't saying I'm going to be running off anywhere alone. I do need to walk and the longer you guilt me into staying immobile the longer it is going to take me to get back to full health. Thankfully, I don't need or want you trying to carry me. You think I want you to reinjure yourself trying to play superman? This has been just as hard on me, my boss who is roaming around out there makes me want to run and just never look back. The shit he did to our brother Luke just to get to me is insane. You of all people know that sometimes bad shit happens to good people, but Bobby I survived, yes I'm with child, but I'm not glass, never have been, never will be." As he stands back up to his full height, she didn't miss the wince he tried to hide. They soon enter Joshua's room. Josh asked about her wheel chair with alarm on his face. "I'm released but you know the drill, I can walk not fast right now, but I am able to walk. How are you doing?" Joshua speaks about his own recovery adventures and how Middlebrooks was going to be coming in about two days to see if he was ready to at the very least go home. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm glad you are doing better." Joshua thanks her for getting him rescued, and thanks them both for keeping Angel steady while trying to find him. "she is going be my baby sister or one of them. She just needed to be away but near, coming over to our place gave her that small thing. For hours we had no leads, when they started coming in, I was glad to show her whatever progress I had. Though, I'm not married in to the family yet". Joy says as she takes Bobby's offered hand as he helped her to her feet. "I already think of you guys as my family."

As Joy approaches his bed, he lifts the bed to where it is sitting up. Joshua says, "Same here sis." Joy who usually shook his hand surprised him by hugging him. He hugged her back without a once of hesitation. Once again, his Angel, his good luck charm's side of the family, saved his life. When she drew back her eyes were moist as she revealed that she'd been terrified that she would fail and thanked all the gods and goddesses that he came out of it alive. "Hey, we both did. I am glad that my new niece or nephew made it." After a few more minutes Joy and Bobby soon leaves.

After their visit, Joshua went to physical therapy and did not almost face plant anyone or anything. When he reenters the room the letter that Jackson had written him was never far from his mind, he'd read it many times. Though he was weary of believing any of it the reason behind it and some of what the man said, did ring true. The feeling that everyone you came from was fucking nuts or just plain vile in some way or another was a hard pill to swallow. Environment only went so far and if this guy was who he said he was what the fuck happened in Alex's childhood to create what the world experienced from him? Also, Alex never said if the blood disease was hereditary. If Jackson knew anything that could keep his family safe, he felt he had to at the very least risk a phone call. He'd spoke to Candy and hearing that she'd met Jackson and didn't get any weird vibes from him was a comfort. Add in Vash telling him before the owners meeting ended, that he'd been at The Davenport back when Jackson and one other driver were the entire company and how he'd gave Vash a ride in his truck to a hotel when he was in the middle of his first divorce, did help paint a positive picture of the man. Chase had returned no criminal past under Jackson's name. Joshua had spoken to Angel and just asked her if he should even call the number. She said yes because if he sat and drove himself nuts about it, then even if Jackson wasn't someone to fear his own mind would give him something to fear. She asked did he want her in the room when he made the call. He'd said yes because if this did go south, he didn't want to worry about where she was. Angel soon comes in with JC. Joshua greeted and played with his son and talked with his wife. Angel pointed out that he was stalling. "Noticed, that huh?" She says if he wanted to wait, she was behind any decision he made.

Joshua picked up the phone attached to his bed, pulled out the letter, and dialed Jackson Knight's number. Jackson answered on the first ring. "Hello, my name is Joshua Davenport, I received a letter from you." Hearing someone that sounded so much like Alex in that tone of voice, was a shock that he had not counted on though he probably should have prepared himself for it. Jackson was a little heavier in his ID photo and on the video feed that Chase had shown him from their brief meeting down on the first floor than Alex, but the facial structure was strikingly similar so that should not have come as a surprise about the sound of the man's voice. This call Jackson did most of the talking. At one point, Joshua stopped him. "So, at no time you knew that Alex had a child? If what he said was true, he told you guys both later when he was like 21, I would have been 5 going on 6. I mean I have no clue who is telling the truth."

Jackson's voice broke when he told of how Alex could not have told him or his wife anything when he turned 21 because of what Alex did to his wife. Joshua asked so that left Jackson. "No, for the good part of 30 years I avoided him some out of it fear and most out of it rage for what he did to the only woman I loved and my youngest child." Joshua asked what he did to Alex to get the reaction. Anger flared but Jackson understood why someone that was abused as a child would think along those lines. The courts tried to put the fire off on him for being the parent that would not just let his child drop out of school. "I have the newspaper articles and the courts findings before he got some hot shot lawyer to help him slither from behind bars. I made him go back to school after he announced that he was dropping out at 17. Yes, I yelled at him when I found drugs in his room and that he had dropped out of school, I flushed his drugs. I made him get in the car that Monday morning, and I dropped him off after getting him reenrolled in school. He repaid me by waiting a few days after I left to do a shipment to Dallas and he then burned down my fucking house. So no after he first went into the system, I left Glenview and moved to Grandville in part hiding from someone I had helped bring into the world, because I couldn't stay in Glenview and rebuild my home after losing everyone I cared for, because when Alex did that it proved that I lost him too, as well as his little brother and my wife. Call me a bad dad if you want, but I never told him my new address. When he did track me down at my job, I tried to forgive him, but he proved that his goal was never to regain my forgiveness. I found him nights after our reunion attempting to steal me blind. I made him and his friends leave at gun point, then hired a tighter security firm to protect my business. I wasn't shocked when the police came to my door and informed me that that he was dead, what shocked me is that he had an almost 31-year son. From what I have gathered both from his home and belongings, and the news you are his only offspring." Joshua asked so since he called what else did Jackson want. "I want to get to know you. We both were robbed of knowing each other existed." Joshua says don't do that. With a little heat to his tone. "Do what?" Joshua told him before he got any deeper into this, he needed proof that Jackson was of blood relation to him. "I'm Alex's father and he is yours." Joshua told him how Alex ambushed him with that fact and never got around to taking any tests to disprove the first lies he was told by his own birth mother. "I have nothing to hide so whenever you want to get typed just name the time and place." Joshua does and Jackson looks at his schedule as he says "Ok, I can do that." As he gets off the phone Jackson leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. He speaks to his wife's sprit. "Tori please if there is anything you can do to heal that boy's soul please do it. Laying our oldest to rest and finding out there was two more generations that followed that we didn't know about hurts like hell. Without you and Terry I felt alone. For the first time in a long time I find myself thinking about someone outside of myself or the business. His name is Joshua, the records I could get a hold of started after he turned 12. Everything else is blacked out. That leads me to believe that maybe this last stunt done by Alex wasn't his only sin against that boy. Alex lied on us to him I don't know what the point was but there is just so much that I wanted to say tonight. Joshua brought up a good point, if I'm not of blood kin to him was Alex really his father, if not, the entirety if his arranged mob style kidnapping of his of child would have been just plain for cruelty. What hurts the most is that I can't even be one of those normal dads that says my child wouldn't do that, he proved that he could do all kinds of dreadful things for his own self-interest. Jackson crosses himself in prayer then gets up to find where his grandson was sending him. He'd call Joshua Davenport grandson in his head until he was proven wrong by science, and if that happened, it would prove that Alex had ripped even more from him leaving him truly alone. Jackson had written the address down now to find where to report for testing.

Joshua speaks to Angel after getting off the phone. "If he's telling the truth that is something, I wouldn't put pass Alex to lie, he lied about everything else. What is one more person to blame for him being him? If It's total crap the guy has had years to prefect, the lie." Angel says she's no great lie detector either, but something about the way he spoke of his past just didn't seem rehearsed. "You do have a point. It's just every time I think that something is what it sounds like, I get…" Joshua looks down at his son who was staring at him. He changes what he was going to say and continues, "freaking burnt." Angel says not every time and kisses him, she then says this road of thought was going to do nothing but frustrate them both. "Yeah I guess, so new topic." Angel tells him about how the tour was going and how their newest band that she signed was really getting a lot of love. "That is good. Congrats on dad allowing you to sign them solo." As Angel geeked out about Jonathon giving her this big shot at executive production, seeing her this happy worked as it almost always did, he loved to see her happy. Joshua noticed the tension leaving him. Angel was right, sitting here thinking too hard about all the crap they'd been through wasn't healthy. They got through it that was saying something. No, he never wanted to revisit any of that trauma, but what he couldn't do was what Middlebrooks warned of in a session recently, which was locking himself in to dark thought patterns. That was something he had to work on. He was glad Angel was here to help. His words to Joy earlier after seeing her on the verge of tears were words Middlebrooks had reminded him of when he'd go into the morbid part of himself during their recent therapy sessions, she said to remind himself that no matter what, he survived, and it was time to start living damnit. He was getting stronger every day and was able to do more for longer. He really did hope that Middlebrooks released him soon.

Harold and Ian head back to the hospital. Harold looks over as they are stopped at a light and watches his son finger the locket that he returned to him. It was a good thing Harold had the presence of mind to lock his firearm away. The interrogation almost folded because as smug as Stanford was Harold found himself wanting to end the man's life that sat across from him. Keeping his calm had paid off, because Stanford thought he was untouchable enough to answer the questions until he requested counsel when Harold suggested that there was a way to retrieve the video of inside their bedroom. By that time Stanford Ryan had basically told Harold most of the things he needed to know. Harold had managed to keep his composure but at points it was hard for him to remain in his seat. Ian gave away that he'd seen a lot of it. That didn't piss Harold off as much as a security breech should, but if he gave this case to someone else and they fucked it up, he would set their file on fire and they would not even be able to apply to be mall security once he was done with them. Yes, he knew he was extremely too close to this case, but Stanford Ryan had brought this Hell filled blanket upon himself.

Days pass, the final days of June were filled with a scorching heat. Middlebrooks enters Joshua's room and 20 minutes after her exam she released him. As she personally handed him the exodus paperwork, she says "Happy Birthday Joshua." He looked at her for a long minute then said thanks. Middlebrooks looked at her watch it was going on 10 a.m. "I do hope I'm not the first to wish you happy birthday." He says "Nah", Angel and most of their household called earlier. "How did that make you feel?" He shrugged with great care and said it was just another day. Sandra firmed her lips. In these two and a half weeks they'd spoke about lots of things in the therapy sessions that started soon after she was able get Joshua stable enough to speak. "I do have one more present for you." He said nothing as if he were waiting for something not so great. "If you want to talk about it after I give it to you, we can do that." She hands him an envelope. As he takes it, he asks her what it is. "Dr. Sheldon received the results of the blood draw." Joshua stared at the envelope, then put it on the bedside table as he says he'd rather wait until Angel got here if that was ok with her. "That is fine, I'd prefer it actually." He seemed to relax a bit when he called Angel. Sandra excused herself to go do her rounds.

Over at Ivey Mansion, Angel runs around their bedroom excited to hear that their suspicion that Joshua would get discharged today was now truth. As soon as she ends the call with Joshua, she calls Sophie and tells her the awesome news. Sophie tells her that she'd watches JC. "Thanks, sista," As Sophie comes in to the room and picks up JC, she says for Angel to go get her brother. "Will do." Angel says with a huge grin as she contacts Joey by text to let him know where she was going. Joey's team was different, the drivers followed but not close. After making it to the hospital in record time and heading up to Joshua's floor upon entering his room Angel sprang through the door and was at Joshua's bedside hugging him almost instantly. Joshua hugged her back for as long as he could. Angel let go before he dropped his hands to his side as he sat on the side of the bed. After they talk for a while and he tells Angel that he was just glad to be getting out of here. She asks was he ready. He then reached over and grabbed the envelope and told her what it was. Joshua opened the results and read it, then read it again. He then hands it to Angel. As he says that Jackson Knight is his grandfather. Angel asks, "so now what happens?" Joshua says he didn't know he really couldn't get the doubt out of his head until now that Jackson was related to him, so he really had no next move planned. "Either way, everything will be alright. You finally get to come home." She says as she lightly runs her lips over his again. Joshua gets in the wheelchair, and right as he was about to object to her pushing him because of the incline that lead through the hall, she says "Don't start." A male nurse walks in and takes the task from her anyway. Joshua tried but failed in hiding a grin. Down in the garage outside her truck where usually Joshua could sit and pull himself into the truck. He tried to get in the truck on his own the first time, and almost passed out when his still healing midsection protested. That had scared and angered Angel as she told him to let the nurse help him. The nurse helps Joshua up into her truck, that part she admits to herself that she may have had an issue doing alone.

Back at Ivey Mansion, Sophie marched around the house holding JC suggesting things for everyone to do. Amy comes in with the cake and tells Sophie about what Chase said about leaving Joshua alone about his birthday. Sophie says, "This is way different. Joshua is coming home. This is a truly small celebration of that event, and it just happens to be on his birthday." Amy shrugged and placed the birthday cake on the table. Nikki came in with a banner that read "Welcome Home Joshua." Candy requests entry at the front gate. Sophie had to remember to reactivate their pass keys, well at the very least Candy's. She calls down to the gate to tell Frank to let Candy in he says she had a plus one. Sophie looks at the screen rolls her eyes and says, "let him in too." If Bradley started anything tonight of all fucking nights, she'd put him right back out. Janet comes over and asks to hold JC. Sophie hands him over along with his now favorite toy a plush stuffed dog that Bobby had got him for Christmas before he was even born. She briefly wondered what she'd get ger own child this year for Christmas according to her doctor her due date was near her own birthday of the 17th. Rubbing a hand over her little baby bump, she gazes at the activity around her. Candy and Bradley ask if they needed the other portable crib from upstairs for the room down here that Angel and Joshua would be staying in until Joshua could climb the stairs. Not wanting Candy or Bradley upstairs right now with how everything went down about the baby monitor being bugged Sophie sure as hell didn't want them in her and Luke's bedroom. Did she believe that Candy or Bradley would bug a baby monitor, no but it was going to take some time before she trusted anyone that wasn't already staying here upstairs? Deon's sick perverted ass could have just as easily bugged her room. That dark thought sent a chill up her spine. "No, when Luke gets here, he said he'd bring it down." Candy asks is she ok saying she looked a little pale there for a minute. "I'm fine." Sophie moves away from them and heads upstairs. Candy asks did she need any help up there. Sophie turned around to answer and the answer must have been written all over her face, because Candy just as quickly said never mind. Not wanting to be misunderstood and pissed off later Sophie says. "I'd appreciate if you guys didn't come up here at all thanks in advance." Sophie then continues up the stairs to her room.

Bobby comes in with Joy, Candy and Bradley says their hellos, they respond and turn their attention away before anything else is said. As Joy walks ahead of Bobby towards the den, she says "I can't believe he showed up here." Bobby says it's not up to them. "If it were." Bobby says but it isn't so please stop. Narrowing her eyes, Joy asks why he was suddenly defending Bradley. "I'm not defending anyone it is just not our call. What will be is if when Joshua and Angel get back if Bradley says something off to them then it will be my pleasure to put him in his fucking place." Chase arrives and asks how far out Joshua and Angel were. Everyone starts heading into the atrium. Cass and Rap shows up

Angel sent a text to Sophie saying she was running in the drug store a few blocks from the house for Joshua's pain med and that he was out in the truck and she then asked could Luke or someone please come out when they did arrive and help Joshua out of the truck.

Sophie: No, we all are just going to let him stay in the truck until he heals enough to get out on his own. Yes, Angel someone will help him out the truck. Do I want to know how you got him in the truck?

Angel explained about Joshua trying to do it himself and how that failed do to his still healing ribs and collarbone. Sophie told her she knew her husband was stubborn.

Angel: I know, and he knows how persistent I can be when something is for his own good. Here is some quick info for you to digest. That man Jackson Knight is Joshua's paternal grandfather.

Sophie: Um you can't drop that and then just leave it there; we will be talking as soon as this party is done. BTW Candy and Bradley are here.

Angel bites her lip as she takes the meds from the pharmacist waves and walks back towards the truck when she agreed to the party at the moment after Joshua said he was coming home tonight a coming home dinner sounded great. She now worried if this was the right move because Nikki had already called it a birthday party.

Jonathan comes in minutes after Sophie tells everyone that Angel was near. "Then that must have been them I passed. They are pulling up now." Sophie speaks about someone helping Joshua out of the truck. Bradley runs around Luke who was heading for the door and says he'd go. Everyone looked back at Candy who just shrugged. Luke walked out behind Bradley, Rapture followed so the look on Luke's face wouldn't melt Bradley's skull from the lasers he was shooting from his eyes.

Angel gets out, walks around the truck, and froze as she stares at Bradley who was doing the fastest powerwalk/run she'd seen him do in ages towards the truck. She seemed to come back to herself when she saw Rapture and Luke on his heels. Bradley wordlessly helps Joshua, Luke grabbed his bag, and Rapture followed them all. They enter the house and everyone in including the Davenport parents says a mixture of welcome home and happy birthday. Angel risked a peek at her husband's face. For a full minute, he just stood there.

Joshua looked around at the expectant faces, then his gaze slides sideways at the apprehensive look on Angel's face. Last year and the years before his birthday were a grim affair that he tried to avoid at every cost. This year surrounded by his loved ones back in his home with the people and in a place that at times during his kidnapping he feared he'd never see again had a way of changing a man's view about any day spent freely living life. "Thanks, guys."

Janet broke the scrutinous quiet that blanketed the room. She asked, "Really, which part do you like?" Nicole tried to put her hand over Janet's mouth before she finished her query, Janet moves her face and continues "the happy birthday or the welcome home?"

Joshua looks at the huge smile on Angel's face then back at everyone. He could have lost all of this, but he didn't he, survived and it was time to start living damnit. With a smirk he says, "Yes, really and to answer the other part both. I'm glad to be back home, and if I'm going to celebrate the day I was born, who better to do it with than the people who love me?" Sophie said finally he got it. Joshua smirked he and Sophie had their moments, but he never had a doubt on whether she loved him. That went for everyone here. They all had history or bonds that connected them, and those bonds were strengthened everyday by love. Luke pulled up his sleeves and says he had steaks to barbeque. They all move out on to the back patio. As Joshua is taking a breather in the kitchen, 20 more feet and he would join the family on the patio, but all this walking was tiring him out. Bradley comes back and asked did he need any help. "Nah, I'm coming." Angel had gone to go grab another play mat for the twins. She walks back into the kitchen and halted when she saw Bradley again. He asked could he speak to them both and even added please. Middlebrooks had taken some of the fury away because she did point out that had Bradley not called, she may have been angry for a darker reason. Though he didn't deliver the message the best it did spark action early as they figured out that something was wrong. She accused Sandra of being on Bradley's side. Sandra said she was not on anyone's side. Sandra asked what the most hurtful part was, was it the fact that he yelled or was it that he accused her of unfaithfulness. Angel had spewed her hurt and confusion. Sandra told her the only way she would find the answers to her confusion was to ask the source and depending on what he said she would at least have her answer and be able to either move forward or make a clean stop. Angel comes out of her inner thought to see two sets of eyes on her. Her lover and brother because Cassandra's words were true, they were siblings. After taking a calming breath Angel says "Sure."

Bradley watches as Angel puts down the huge rubber tube and Joshua sits in the nearest chair. Angel walks over and stands behind him. "Ok Angel I was way out of line that night I am sorry that I scared you, and that I pissed you off. To Joshua, I do remember what you said, and I really was just scared got some misinformation and."

Angel takes a breath and then cut off Bradley. "Bradley stop, on one hand, I am glad you called because I was able to tell Sophie who was able to get Chase, Joy, and Bobby on it quickly, and it worked. We got Joshua back. Yes, you could have said it differently, but there really wouldn't have been anything truthfully that you could have said to lighten that blow."

Joshua asks "but?" As he holds out his hand. She moves from behind him and sits next to him holding his hand. Angel was present in the trauma sessions in his hospital room and if they were going to get over this, better to have it all on the table now. Angel closes her eyes and reopens them as she looks at Bradley and says, "But Brad, it's what you wrapped it in. What hurt the most is I trusted that we all had been getting to a better place as a family, then for you a person I held as a brother to think I would ever want to hurt my husband in any way. For you to think that I would set him up to get hurt was just the painful topper. I keep asking myself why that would even remotely be a conclusion that you would draw about me? I told you off because I felt attacked and scared, but I meant every word."

Bradley drove his hands through his hair and leaned against the counter. "I know you meant it. I realized I'd fucked up instantly the minute you stopped speaking right before I realized you'd hung up. The situation scared and pissed me off. I unfairly lashed out at you." Bradley explains how before they found out that Joshua wasn't just having his guards play gatekeeper how he was angry at Joshua. Then that anger split into anger at himself for being mad at Josh and anger at whoever was behind who made his brother fucking vanish. Bradley goes on to explain the feelings of fear welling up inside of him and how calling Logan and asking him to fill in the blanks was what set him off like a misguided rocket. "I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. You said that I meant every word, right then armed with part of the story, yeah, I meant it until you set me straight. I wanted desperately to call you back, but I knew you wouldn't want to hear anything, but I found him. Since I couldn't give you that I didn't call back, but I continued looking for you Joshua I didn't stop until they found you. It wasn't really anything about you Angel that made me think it. It was just you were the only part of this that I could get ahold of and I spewed all the hurt and fear at you that I couldn't spew at who deserved it. You asked me what I wanted from you. I know it may take time, but please forgive me. You are the best thing that ever happened to my brother and our family. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you like you were there for me."

Armed with the truth and Bradley's entire side of the story Angel says, "I'll never be pleased that you hurt me, but I forgive you." Bradley walked towards them with a look of relief on his face. Angel and Joshua both put up a hand. Angel meets Bradley's gaze and says "Don't approach me. I forgive you, but I won't soon forget this, and it's going to take me some time to dare to trust you as I once did. This is it, Bradley, I'm tired of letting people I trust so close to my heart just to for them to shatter me because I'm in their path. I get it your mind was in turmoil but please don't ever do anything like that again."

Joshua adds "Bradley, if you ever disrespect my wife again for any reason you might as well forget where we live. Are we clear?"

Bradley promised himself that he would not become the toxic person his sister feared trusting anymore nor the person that drove his brother to cut him off. Since he'd just froze when they raised their hands he steps back and says. "Crystal clear."

Later that night after their conversation with Bradley, they all headed outside, and Joshua was able to enjoy the rest of his birthday with his loved ones. Sally's mother even called him to wish him a very happy birthday. She was sad that she couldn't be in the states to see him come home, since she was just getting over a cold, and even though his father Chase offered to have her flown in she didn't want to go against her doctor's instructions. The last thing Joshua wanted was for his 86-year-old grandmother to hurt herself trying to travel to see him. "No gram, do as your doctor says please." She smirks at him and says she would if he followed his own advice. "I will" she continues that she didn't want this day to pass without her at the very least calling her grandson and being able to tell him welcome home, and happy birthday, at least on video chat. Joshua smiled at the camera and says thanks to his grandmother in her native language of Spanish, "gracias abuela" She smiled right back and called him her little grandson. Angel walks over with Jonathon-Chase and their grandmother's smile got bigger which didn't even seem possible. She spoke and sang to her great-grandson and they all watched as he happily swung his latest favorite stuffed dog toy and giggled. Later still after cake, everyone was heading either to their room or home. Joshua enters the bedroom that JC, Angel, and he was staying in until he could manage the stairs. Angel soon came in with JC and put him in his portable crib that Luke had brought down. Joshua sat on the edge of the bed as Angel rubbed the medical cream on him. She asked since this room isn't as warm as theirs did, he want her to run up and grab him a shirt? "Nah, I'll be ok." Angel dresses for bed and slides in beside him. They talk and she soon drifts off to sleep. It had been a long day for not only him but her as well. Joshua lays in the quiet thinking, a smirk lights his face as he thinks about the fact that with everything that went down, he still got his wish from last year. Right now, at this moment he was home with his wife and child on his birthday. As the cream did its work to take away the discomfort from all the moving around, he did today, sleep soon claims him as well.

_**Author's Note**_**: **For my readers in the US I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I also hope my Canadian readers had an awesome Canada Day. So, it has been brought to my attention by one of my super awesome readers that my chapters are getting too long. I don't wish to alienate any of my readers new or old so I will be working to shorten the chapters. This chapter was long, but I had a lot of things I wanted to get in, but I promise that I will make the chapters shorter. Also, I am working hard to get the next chapter ready for your reading consumption. Thanks for reading. If you have any comments or questions or even suggestions, or concerns they are welcomed, and I will respond**: **_**End Note **_


	6. Chapter 6 Descending into Distrust

Chapter 6 Descending into Distrust

Over at a house show in Ivey Towers Grandville South, Mark is standing in the back watching a match. Asuka, one of his best female students rushes the ring and beats the crap out of Liv Morgan another of his female students both women had been signed shortly after Vince visited the school. They were on the taping of a new reality show "WWE Road to Ring" that creative had thought up to further showcase talent from his school on a national stage. One of the producers asked to film inside his school and Mark really didn't mind the showcase being taped for TV but he was still unconvinced that places other than the training floor or the showcase ring should be aired. The last thing he needed was some fan thinking they can just walk into one of the housing buildings and get them self an impromptu meet and greet. If said producer kept bugging him, he'd just have Sophie set the guy straight.

Asuka walks backstage behind the curtain after her match. She was super excited that she got the chance to perform in front of her largest audience yet. As she heads to her dressing room, she talks with Shinsuke Nakamura, he'd been helpful in giving her someone to chat with when the cameras were off. The owner and coordinator of her school Mark Callaway holds out his massive hand telling her good work. She takes his hand and slowly thanks him in American English. He didn't demand she learn English he'd just suggested learning it could help her get the best billing after she left the school, she found herself wanting to show him that she was worth his praise. It still amazed her that he could speak Japanese. He tells her what she should work on as far as correcting her move set and reminding her of the work safe policy. He then heads back towards his dressing room to prep for his own match. Liv Morgan limped backstage and stuck her blue tongue out at Asuka. To this Asuka makes a slashing motion with her hand across her throat like Mark dose in his matches to signify the end is near. Liv rolls her eyes and walks away. Shinsuke tells her not to let Liv get to her. She then says, "No worries." They head to catering.

Paige and Becky are sitting next to each other gossiping about the latest news that WWE was going to pull yet another person from their school. Ever since Mr. Callaway had talked them into continuing after getting a better Co-coordinator Mr. Foley, it seemed as if everyone was taking off in the right direction. They see Asuka and wave her over. She and her shadow Shinsuke sits down across from them. Paige brings up Mark's challenge that he made on Raw. "I still think it should be open to everyone." Becky agrees loudly and then starts calling herself "The Man" making a motion with her hands like she is wearing the belt around her waist. Other wrestlers look at the four and turns their attention back to their own meals.

Stephanie walks in to catering, Paige and Becky walk over to her and starts throwing ideas at her for women to be included in the race for Mark's belt. Charlotte Flair an already established diva, says she wanted no part in that. Naomi the woman's Champion walks over and asks Paige was she trying to fight Mark because she thought he'd go easy on her because she was in his school or was, she just afraid of all this glow, as she lifts the woman's belt and tilts her head to the side with a smirk. Stephanie says since Paige and Becky were still student pros that would take them out of the race anyway. Shane walks over after hearing the girls start getting loud trying to talk over each other and says because they were on the "WWE Road to Ring" show they could possibly contend for the woman's belt in a few months if they were fully pulled into full contract by October. Right now, all of Mark's students that Vince liked except for Rapture who had a full contract and was no longer a student, were on partial contracts. Student pros were part student, part performer, the student pros could do house shows but not any television spots except for on the R2R show and any showcases that Mark's school had televised through LEGNA USA Productions. Stephanie gets in Shane's face and snarls that this was not to be discussed in catering. Shane says then maybe it was time for a creative meeting, then he walked away, leaving Steph standing there with her mouth open. Steph storms after Shane.

Naomi looks at Paige and says, "You got heart, but I still don't think you can handle this glow." Becky gets in Naomi's way and says they would be happy to take her belt. "You may be happy to try when you get on the card, oops I mean if you get on the card, but trying only gets you so far. Bye ladies." Naomi then sashays away with Charlotte.

Mark had a match with Shamus, and when Shamus went for the "Bro Kick" Mark blocked it and slammed him against the ropes. "Nice try fucker." Shamus said when Mark went for a choke slam and Shamus dodged under his arm and punched him. They exchange a few more move sets. Mark caught Shamus in midair and slammed him for trying to jump from the top rope and knock him down. Dean Ambrose's music hits, and he charged out along with Seth Rollins, the two jumped in the ring and started attacking Mark.

Which gave Mark the win via disqualification. Shamus went to join in the fray when the Usos charged out through the audience and started fighting off Mark's attackers. As Mark is finally on his feet and helping even the odds Shamus, Seth, and Dean jump out of the ring. As they are retreating up the ramp. Jimmy Uso grabs a mic and says, "If anybody gonna be in line for that belt it's gonna be USOS." They get a good pop from the crowd. Jimmy tells the crowd the date of the next time, they would be doing a live show here in Grandville South.

Mark heads to the back to trainers' row to get checked out. When Seth and Dean attacked him one of them kicked him in his fucking head. Though the Usos' cavalry run to his aid was planned, Mark had needed the distraction to lay on the mat and get his head from spinning almost 20 minutes later he entered his dressing room to Janet and Tony at his dressing room door when he walked in. Janet asked was he ok. "Yeah little one, I'm going to hit the shower you two get ready to head out soon as I'm done ok." When Mark is done with his shower and dressed in his street clothes, he really didn't feel he should be driving. The dizziness had subsided but him and concussions were not strangers. One aspect of this he wouldn't miss is people not working safe. He asked Janet did she want to drive, and she excitedly said yes.

On July third, Joy looks out the window of the private jet that Chase had waiting on them this morning. Bobby and one of the new guards talk up near the flight deck. Bobby soon comes to sit beside her, drawing her full attention. They were going to Washington for Robert to officially meet her family. This entire trip made Joy unconfutable. He must have picked up on her shift in mood because he took her hand rubbed a little pattern on the back of her hand releasing some of the tension that had built up unbeknownst even to her. She had not noticed that she was holding on to the arm of the seat with such a grip until her fingers relaxed.

Bobby watched his mate calm at his touch, not wanting her to think she had to lock herself inside of her head, he leans back in his seat and says quietly "Talk to me." She gazes at him then at Lance their newest guard from Joey's group. "Lance can you give us a minute, we're in the air now so you're welcome to grab you a break." Lance nods and walks towards the rear kitchenette closing the sliding door. Bobby returns his attention to Joy and asked, "Are you feeling ok?" She revealed that she didn't know why but she felt uneasy about this trip. Bobby draws Joy into him, and she lays her head on his chest and rubs her belly. "I can't say what your feeling, I know that I'm kind of hyperaware but that's just my nature." Joy says that she hadn't been nervous until she realized that Jack was going to be at the house as well. "So, are you worried that they will continue judging me based on what he's done or hasn't done?" Joy says that Elation was able to convince Jack to be at the dinner tonight, but she wondered what it was costing her sister. "I don't know him so I really couldn't say one way or another. Please don't stress yourself out about this." Joy says he is right and smiles up at him. He kisses her to see the strain retreat from her features into a genuine smile.

As they land, their alerted by the captain that they can use their phones and that it is 57 degrees at 10 a.m. and welcomed them to Seattle. Joy switched her phone out of airplane mode and her phone started populating with messages. Her earlier uneasiness was back ten-fold when she read a message from her older brother that they would have to have the dinner at his home instead of their parents' home because someone set their family home ablaze yesterday and though everyone was ok because their parents were out buying last minute groceries, the house was a total loss. He then added a dig about how Joy was probably happy since she hated being here so much. Tears welled her eyes. As she typed out a response.

Joy W: Why you would say that Kindred? Yes, you know why I left, but I never wanted our home destroyed. That was uncalled for. Why did no one tell me this after it happened yesterday?

Kindred: As for why no one told you. Mom and dad told us not to they feared that without your old room you wouldn't come home anymore. I'm sorry Joy, it's just that ever since you left the first time, mom and dad are always super excited like little puppies anytime you come for a visit. You are the one that left, and Elation and I, get to witness them miss you. It just pisses me off. I have room at my home you and your dude are welcomed to stay with me. Mom and dad are staying in town with Elation and Jack. I'm going to get our family house rebuilt our parents deserve better than to live out their years in that tiny house with them. I offered for them to come here to my place, but they don't like this area. I think it had more to do with they could finally get time with Elation and her husband.

Bobby ushered her inside the Ivey Transit Hummer stretch limo while the guys got their luggage, "What's wrong you opened your phone and I could feel the shift." Joy looks up at him and the tears in her eyes broke him in half and pissed him off. "Hey, what happened, is everyone ok?" She hands him her phone as she digs in her purse for a tissue to get herself together before their bodyguard came back. Reading the text message exchange made Bobby want to go beat the shit out of her smart mouth brother and get his mate as far away from this mess as he could. Pulling her into him he says, "It's going to be ok whatever you want to do we can." He rubs her back as she held onto him. Lance opened the door to sit across from them Bobby shakes his head and Lance nodded and set up front. Bobby wanted to get Joy calmed down. This storm was coming, and her brother just brought everything she'd tried to tamp down to the surface as she cried. Bobby just whispered, "I got you. It is going to be ok," over and over trying to comfort her while not displaying any of the rage he was feeling. He didn't know Kindred Wildflower, but the man was already on Bobby's shit list. After Joy finally calms, she straightens out of Bobby's embrace and takes the offered bottled water from him. With a look of mortification, she silently asks could they hear her back here. Bobby smirks and says, "No and even if they could, you're human, it happens." She lays back on him.

She starts doing her makeup and asked could they stop for a snack. "Right now, we are heading to Ivey Suites Seattle dad says they have a bakery." She looks at him and said they were invited to stay with her brother. "We aren't staying with him, I know I'm not 100% but if he said something and upset you, he'd end up putting us out because it would become very hard for me not to break his face. We can go to the dinner and I'll meet your folks, but Joy I know me, and I know that if his message is any indicator on how he is in person it is best that I don't share space with him for too long."

Joy knew how protective Bobby could be and saw his point. She didn't want her mate or her brother fighting or feeling that they must. Kindred could be a wise ass and she didn't want anything to further taint this visit. It was heart breaking that their family home on the reservation had been destroyed. She called her parents and spoke to her mother. "Mom Kindred said you feared telling me about the house for fear that I would not come back?" Her mother confirmed it and asked was she still coming, or had he told her before she got on the plane. "No, we are here heading to the hotel then we will be on our way to Kin's. Mother, I don't know why you'd think that I would leave or even worse not come at all." Her mother said that is what Kindred told them, so they didn't want to risk telling her because she really wanted to meet the man that was going to take her daughter and keep her from them. "Mother that is not fair, I have been with Robert for years and I have managed very well to come back as often as my schedule will allow." Joy had to change the subject when she felt her face heating? "Did they find the person that torched the house?" When her mother spoke, something did not sound right. "Wait the fire was set in what used to be Elation's and my room." Bobby's gaze snapped to her. "When I came for Thanksgiving last year the room held nothing that would have started a fire in it. That means the person had to be inside the house. Who all had keys to the house?" Her mother told her not to start that police stuff the sheriff was doing a thorough job. "Mother please answer my question." Her father gets on the line and tells her to stop upsetting her mother. Knowing that their talk was over for now, Joy says, "Yes father." They soon get off the phone with Joy reassuring her father that yes, she and her mate would be at Kin's tonight.

Across the country near New York, Harold is sitting by Natalie's beside when her hand twitched, he looked up though he knew better by now to expect anything. Almost three fucking weeks and she was no closer to waking than she was the first fucking night. Sadly, the first time this happened, he thought she would wake. He talked loud and soft to her and held her hand. The doctor had crushed that expectation within him when she said that it was just an involutory reaction. This time the movement persisted, and he looked up again. He slept with one eye open and when he couldn't stay awake any longer, he'd switch places with Ian. Rubbing his finger across her knuckles made her twitch again. This had not happened before usually he got one twitch not a series of them. Seizer was the dark thought that slammed into him as he rose and watched her for any other movement. A seizer they could treat the other thought that made him sit and hold her hand just a little tighter than before, was that she was dying. Yes, they were all dying it is the human cycle you were born, you lived, and then you died, but what worried him and kept his eyes glue to her face was the thought that the doctors had missed something on the many scans, and surgeries, and she would slip through his fucking fingers again. First, he let his work create a wedge in his marriage, and now as if the world just wanted to see how far his sanity would stretch one of his men had nearly killed his wife. He gets a call from his Commanding Officer that ordered him to either take leave or work his case load saying he could not just stay stationary and let the world burn down around their ears while he waited for Natalie to wake because criminals would not take a long weekend or so for him to sit idle. It took great draw on his training not to snarl into the phone. Taking a breath, he thought about his options, if he went on leave his C.O. would pull him off the Stanford Ryan case, and the Stark investigation and the 10 other cases on his desk collecting dust, one of which they were waiting for a ruling on the female wrestler Nikki Bella that had apart in the John Cena and Randy Orton case that involved his brother in law Mark. He asked his C.O. for time to make his decision. His C.O. must have heard the tightness in his tone and agreed but told him he had 30 minutes. "Yes Sir" It was better than nothing. If he was to do his job, he could not drag his son along and he would not leave him here to possibly suffer backlash from Ryan. He had to call his sister Paula and or his brother Mark. They were the only family he had and the only ones he trusted. He'd tracked down Nat's father and got the same bullshit excuse on why he couldn't come see his only child. Natalie's father had abandoned her and her mother when she was 19, to go find himself. Weeks right after that lost, her mother was killed while sunbathing on the patio of their home, via a car crashing through the wooden privacy fence and hitting her. The driver was fleeing a bank robbery. Steven Wakefield had turned too fast and slammed through the fence. He claimed he panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake. That action caused the car to hit the victim hard enough to knock her into the air against the shed 20 feet away. Wakefield tried to sue the police for chasing him. He was sentenced to life in prison. Harold's parents died of natural causes 6 months after Ian's 9th birthday. It was times like this he wished he had never moved out of Texas. If he still lived there maybe all this would have never happened. Looking at his watch he walks over, taps Ian, and tells him that he had to make some calls. Ian rolled off the ugly little sofa the hospital had put in the room.

He couldn't do this he was cracking as he listened to the phone ring. Paula answered and the entire story came out in a rush. Silence met his ears. "PJ" Paula answered and asked when it happened. He tells her. He asked if Ian could come there for a while, she said she would have to talk to Angel and the gang. Thinking of his son being protected by a few agents that were a part of his agency he said "No go home, keep him there please." Paula says she is only home for the weekend and on weeks that she is working the new bar. She mentions that Ivey Mansion was safer than their home anyway. "Not right now If Stanford has any pull or the amount, I think he has sending Ian to Ivey Mansion could very well get him killed." Paula asked were they in danger. "No, the only link that Stanford Ryan would have known about is Ian but if he shows up and one of those agents are dirty, Ian could get hurt or worse. For obvious reasons I do not publicize our relation. Please PJ, I am holding on by a thread as it is. If I take the leave and turn over these cases and some underling tanks them either from less experience or on purpose, lots of people including people I care about will, not could, but will be in the line of fire." Paula says she will ask Mark because this was a huge favor he was asking. "Where is he, I'll ask him myself?" Paula says he just left for a show in Orlando. Harold disdainfully mumbled something about Mark's schedule saying that Mark should be there with her. Paula went off on him and told him not to start transferring his own guilt on to her husband, because their lives were not the same. "I'm sorry PJ, please talk to Mark. I really must end this. After I close these cases I'll be retiring, I can't just abandon her, but if I don't do this work now, even if Natalie lives, both of the children and her will be in danger." Paula asked him to give her a minute she was texting Mark as they spoke.

Mark was on his Ivey Transit Luxury bus heading out of town he was running late but would get to the arena in time for his practice. He made this an ongoing arrangement with Ivey Transit and was thinking of just buying the bus and hiring a full-time coach operator because he liked not having to worry about either driving himself after a grueling show or when their schedules allowed bringing his oldest, her best friend and or her boyfriend with him. He didn't bring the twins along; they were too small and though Janet and Nikki were ok with watching after the twins he didn't want to always lay that responsibility on his teenage daughter and her friend. His oldest had come through so much fire this last few years, watching her have friends and interactions like a normal child swelled his heart with pride and joy. It had been almost 5 months since Janet had a night terror. He'd noticed himself in her, the good parts. He gets a message from Paula. His first instinct was to protect his women from anything that Harold was dealing with and say no, but he asked questions and knew that if the roles were reversed that his brother would have said yes and come up with a plan to make it work. So would Mark, after a brief exchange and a little planning he texted back yes.

Paula tells Harold Mark's condition and answer. "That's doable I can have him on the first thing in the air by tomorrow. Thank you, PJ, and thank Mark for me." He soon ends the call and walks back in to talk to his son. At first Ian glares at him and accuses him of ditching him off on family so he can run back to his work. Harold lost his hold on his temper and yelled advancing as he spoke, "First off, no one is ditching you. Second, going back to work now though, it's not my first choice the only other option is to take leave and drop all the cases on my desk. I am doing the only thing I fucking know how to do. If I lose you and her, I'll lose everything including my mind. Do you want Stanford to be able to just walk? You are going that is not up for debate. Do you fucking hear me?" His son flinched and shrank back away from him shaking. Seeing that he was genuinely scaring his son hurt. Harold was loud, not too long ago before Stanford Ryan, this would not have been Ian's response. The iron blanket of what his son had been through slammed into Harold like a fist to the gut. Ian before Stanford Ryan had never had to fight a grown man before or watch his mother get her ass handed to her in front of him. These past weeks he heard the whimpers as Ian slept. Harold looked in the mirror and silently cursed. Slowly he shut his eyes trying to bring his coloring back to normal from the puce it was right now and unclenched his fist. He wasn't going to hit his son, but Harold's stance and tone probably screamed a different story to his very frightened son standing by his mother's hospital bed with bandages running up and down his arms and bruises on his face.

Ian stood wide eyed he knew if he couldn't fight Stanford, fighting his dad would be an automatic fail. When his dad walked towards him, he kept a distance between them by walking backwards until he bumped into his mother's bed. Finding his voice when his dad stops advancing, he says "I'll go."

Over in Grandville South Proper, Maxwell Stalk Wolfe sits in a meeting with his queen position, his second in command, Salvatore Fenny-Paradise. "Give" Salvatore glances at his phone screen and gives the report on current activities dealing with Chase, Jonathan, and last but the one Wolfe cared the most about the child. "It sounds as if you are nervous." Wolfe pulls a pistol and lays it on his desk "We do have an excellent retirement plan."

Sal visibly swallowed then his words came out in a rush. "My apologies Wolfe but the last time I stood in this room you were determining if I would live or die." Wolfe says nothing has changed he was still the final word on Sal's last breath if he continued to be a good soldier, he had nothing to fear. Sal knew if Wolfe killed him here his body would never be found. His plan of leaving money behind for his remaining family would never get delivered if he just disappeared. He really screwed himself with that side mission with Alex. He was just glad that Alex paid the heaviest price there is and not him yet. He'd stuck to his duties and made sure that his performance was flawless these past few weeks. "I have intel on the rumblings you heard of the female don trying to rally what is left of her troops. She is working with the Dirty Cop Clan of all groups." Wolfe asked how he found that jewel of information. "One of my bugs are still in place. The female don goes to a clinic where she can give her orders without being recorded by the feds because it goes against HIPPA laws." Wolfe says to make sure that Sal's end to the DCC is final this time. Salvatore nods. Wolfe dismisses him.

Salvatore heads home, while at a stop light he turns his head and locks eyes with non-other than the doctor they kidnapped. Which turned out to be Chase Ivey's best friend. As far as Sal was concerned that entire family network was untouchable. He'd missed the connection and almost got himself killed. Now they were being guarded by a blend of paramilitary and feds and if both of those failed Wolfe had extended his den's protection. The light turned green and the dark car with Doct3n on the license plate revved its engine and sped away. Sal is almost ran off the road, when a fucking formation of cars and Hummers push in front of him keeping him separate from the speeding black car of the doctor. He wasn't even trying anything and almost ended up over the railing. He contacts Wolfe because he didn't need his boss thinking he was making any type of unapproved play. Wolfe had already heard about the interaction, Sal wondered from who but dared not ask. Wolfe told him it was good he called. He then told him that he had better let that be the last time it looked as though he was pursuing the doctor.

Back in Washington at Kindred's spacious home tucked away on the edge of Seattle. Bobby and Joy are sitting in the living room, and all is well until Elation comes storming in with Jack on her heels. Kindred loudly introduces them to Bobby over their bickering. Jack stops speaking and stares at Bobby. Elation oblivious to Jack's lack of movement and speech as she asks him what he said as he continued to stare. Life Wildflower, their mother, walks in behind them tilts her head and says it was not polite to stare at people. Jack mumbles "he's not a person, he's a freaking ghost" and walks off toward the back of the house. Elation apologizes for Jack and follows him. Before Joy could grab for his hand Bobby was through the door asking Jack what that was supposed to mean. Jack turned around his height was not impressive he and Bobby stood almost nose to nose. Jack says as Joy enters the room, "What I meant is that no matter how far you go Joy, you'll never escape his type."

Joy says, "That's enough you don't even know me well enough to make such a statement." He opens his mouth to retort but Bobby tells him he had 15 seconds to apologize or he was going to meet the floor. Jack asks was that why he was here to protect her from her own blood family. "Robert please stop, Jack I don't think I need protection from my own family what is wrong with you? You go from hardly ever being present now you are the one with everything to say?" Jack says he wasn't present when she was around, but it wasn't his choice. Kindred walks in between Bobby and Jack and says that they must be hungry and suggests that everyone just come on into the dining room and have a seat at his massive table.

As everyone including Joy's mother Life Buckmaster-Wildflower and her father Moose Wildflower all sit at the table. Life asks Bobby does he celebrate Independence Day. "I didn't for a while, up until I was adopted. Then I did with my adoptive father and grandmother until she died. As an adult it is just another day at work." Bobby was prepared for the question and hoped his truth satisfied them. He'd thought of lying but what would be the point? It was clear that Joy's family didn't like him. At least her brothers. Elation had not said much to him. Moose says that he forgot that Bobby was adopted and apologized. "I don't know why you would apologize it is not something I shout from the roof tops." Life asked did Mayor Ivey demand he celebrate other American holidays? "No, my dad and grandmother never tried to force me to celebrate anything I didn't want to. They left it up to me. I was adopted into the family after my grandfather passed, but he was a solider so being there to put a rose on my grandfather's grave on special days that meant something to my grandmother was just our thing. As for Christmas my birth mother was raised Christian so if anything, Easter and Christmas were something I was used too. Chase wasn't as strictly Christian as my birth mother, but I'd call him spiritual none the less."

Kindred stood and announced that he had news. Everyone looks up at him and he says. "Joy is not the only one getting married. I am too." Where most of his family congratulated him Jack and Elation laughed. "What is so damn funny" as he points at Jack and says, "You have been inside more females since you said I do than candy bars inside a fat kid, and you dare laugh at me?" Jack jumps on the defensive and says that wasn't true. He then turns to Elation asking is that what she has been telling her family. Elation says no but her tone gave away the truth. He asks her out of the room for a talk. "My home, don't trash it, like you did your own." Elation turned back to Kindred and said for him to grow up she then leaves the table to follow Jack.

Life asks will she at least be able to meet the young woman who will take her son. "Mother, father, it will take time, but I will introduce you to my mate. If your little question and answer session to this fake cop is any indicator it will take a lot of time." Bobby grunts but says nothing. "oh, you thought I stopped at listening to my sister Joy talk about how great of a guy you were and didn't do my homework on you? Fat chance, Joy says you are a federal agent that worked with her years ago in a few cases. I found your name in one other agency and that was the Texas Rangers after that you kind of went jobless. Yeah you did a small stint in State police work according to your father but even he was evasive at best when asked what your rank was. I think you are a very convincing rich kid that gets off on fooling my sister into thinking you are this great agent when really you are a family member away from inheriting the old man's fortune." Moose says he looked Bobby up on social media with a photo and came back with hardly nothing but recent pictures of him with his mayor dad. Life chimed in and said that Jack was elusive with what he did, but she knows what her son in law's job title is and that's enough for her.

Joy sees her mate ready to speak she needed Bobby not to lose his shit. She puts her hand on Bobby's shoulder and stands and says "Well the double standard of that comment alone is enough for me. I know what Robert's job title is, but for obvious reason I will not be announcing it so believe what you want."

Bobby stands as well, and flips open his close protection badge. He was tired of this one-way shit fest at his expense. It was also under a coded badge number. If he opened the other one there was too much that could backfire on him and this bunch was not worth him getting fired and fined. Moose asked to see it. Bobby shows it to him, and Moose of all people confirms its legitimacy as he says he'd recognize that symbol anywhere.

Moose welcomes Robert into the family and follows it up with he was glad his youngest was happy and prayed she stayed that way. Kindred stands and proposed a toast and says, "Congratulations Joy, you found you a Jack. You proved dad wrong, you did very well for yourself away from us. Oh yeah, no you didn't you almost got yourself killed." Seeing Kindred's words sting Joy, Bobby goes off on Kindred, telling him none of that was either of their fault. All the anger that had built up spewed from his lips like viper strikes. Bobby ended his tirade with the fact that Joy was set up by her boss not by him, or any of the other stories circulating through the fucking hot sheets. Joy excused herself and left the room, Bobby followed her.

Jack and Elation reenter the room, and Life asks Kindred why he was so angry at his little sister. After having time to think about all the stuff Bobby said, Kindred felt about two inches tall. Moose says that is not how he was raised. Life asked why Kindred would bring up the accident. "That's just it mom, that was no accident Robert said himself that her own job you know the "thin blue line" tried to become a rope around her neck. I was more ok when she finally got off the street doing her Captain Computer geek gig. She at least didn't have to worry about getting shot at or stabbed or anything."

The next day over in Grandville North, Ian gets off the plane and is picked up by his aunt Paula. She was a lot smaller than what he remembered but the last time he'd seen her she was pregnant. That made him think of the little girl his mom had just had. It was harder for him to leave her than anything, but he'd already opened his smart mouth to his dad and thought he was going to land in a heap the minute he stopped speaking. He'd shut up and his dad had visually calmed down. On the way to the airport his dad had told him that he wasn't going to hit him, that his words had just struck a chord, and then his dad asked him did he really believe the things that flew from his mouth. Ian lied and said no. His dad went on and explained again that all he wanted was for Ian to be safe while he completed his case load. He wanted to ask his dad but what about his mother and the little girl but not wanting to push his dad's last hot button while in a moving car, Ian had kept his fucking mouth shut. It is July 4th, but he didn't feel like celebrating anything. Paula was talking to him. He hadn't got much sleep and her asking him if he wanted a nap years ago, would have been insulting, right now it sounded good. "Sure."

Paula stole glances at her nephew he was taller than he was even a year ago but the look on his face really hadn't changed he still looked angry at the world. Without Harold's mop of dark hair, he would look just as angry. She remembers when Harold had got a crew cut, he walked around looking like a soldier and that was before he entered any type of law enforcement. Paula turned on the radio and a Slash song came on Ian didn't say anything, so she left it on. They pull through the gate to their home and Ian looks around then back at her. "Your dad asked for us to keep you up here and that is what is going to happen. These dudes don't play nice and from the looks of you and what he did to Natalie you already know this." Ian said nothing. His body language gave it away more than any words. He then asked were the puppies here at least. Pain and Panic were full grown Bull Mastiffs. "I wouldn't call Pain and Panic pups, but yeah they are in the back. They had their babies since the last time you were here." The excitement that she was used to seeing when she spoke with him about any animal took over his brooding features and fills it with a brief smile. He then asked where his uncle was. "Mark is getting ready for a pay-per-view called "Extreme Rules" Ian says oh ok.

After his aunt Paula tells him to go have a lay down and that she would be back with food, the twins, and Janet later in the day, Ian once again said ok. Then he remembered how screwed up he'd been twisted in his own head and said mean shit to his cousin. Now her parents were like the ones his dad trusted to keep him safe from harm from Stanford. Oh yeah this was going to go swell. Ian thinks to himself as he stretches out in the guest bedroom he'd stayed in last year. Pain nosed the bedroom door open and soon plopped on the bed next to him. He soon curdled around the huge beast feeling safer than he had in months and drifted off into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

Paula let Panic in the house, and he trotted towards Ian's room as well, as their enormous dog pushed himself into the bedroom Paula saw her nephew curled around the female Bull Mastiff and smiled as the male flanked his other side. If anything, her nephew felt protected enough to sleep. Harold had warned her of Ian's tendency to sleep walk and have night terrors. She watched the three for a while knowing Pain nor Panic would let Ian wander too far was a comfort. She quietly closed the door got in her truck, and heads back towards Granville South. She calls Harold and says, "Yes my nephew is safe and at the house with Pain and Panic." Harold called them their temple dogs referring to their size. I just called to tell you that I got him from the airport so you can concentrate on your work. How's Natalie and the baby?" Harold says no change.

Back in Grandville South, Logan had been called by Kevin to come help him out on to their back patio because Kevin didn't want to be stuck inside on the holiday and getting him out the door was hard for his wife Beth on her own. Logan had gone over and helped his cousin on to his patio Beth asked did he want to stay for a bite to eat. Logan had declined saying he needed to get back home. Logan just didn't feel like hanging with them. He'd run errands for them in between working all week and just wanted a few hours to spend time at his own home, he also didn't want Nikki stuck watching the boys for her entire holiday. Everyone in the family called him on his way back and wished him a happy 4th. When he arrived home to find that Nikki was not only not watching the boys, but Mia was home from the shop, he hugged her and asked was everything ok. She turns her face towards him and says that her boss had given her the rest of the day off after she fixed a van that the parts came in for this morning. Mia then asked was he still wanting to go to his family's party. "No, since he really can't get out of the chair and up mom and dad's drive way, it's at Kevin's this year. I help when I can, but I'm just not in the mood to be over there for long periods of time." Mia didn't press the issue but did say she wished she was half as close to her family as he made it look. Logan strolled over to the window looked out, Sighs saying, "Looks can be deceiving. Anyway, did you want to go to the fireworks show tonight? It's at Cherry Lake Pier this year, and I can't recall if Glenny ever went." An hour later, Bradley along with Candy pulled into their driveway. Logan greets his friends and asked were they going up to Ivey Mansion. Bradley said no that they were here to set shit on fire and pal around with the boys. "Stuff still strained with you Angel and Josh?" Bradley says he didn't think so but wasn't up for possibly being around too much. Candy says she was here to play with Glenny because when she got to watch him here lately, he was already asleep or very close to it. Mia thanks her for babysitting Glenny and Ethan while she worked, and Logan was out of town. Candy says no problem and asked Logan about his newest out of town project. "I swear Chase is throwing my name to his friends, I'm remodeling a building in D.C. That reminds me, Bradley I need you to finish the Journey Road project over in Dallas." Bradley says that job was almost done he gave it two more days and they would be ready for inspection. "Glad to have your head back in the game man. You have really been knocking those projects out." Later that night, the boys stand on the back porch with sparklers Bradley had brought. At first Glenny didn't want to hold the fiery sparkling stick. Ethan told him it was like the magician's stick and that was enough for Glenny, he soon was trying his best to cast spells on the banister. He flicked the last sparkler so hard against the railing that it broke off. Looking up at his daddy Logan he proclaims that he'd made the fire disappear. Logan made sure that the thing landed in the pool of water. Bradley lit a few fireworks and the boys jumped up and down counting off the little rockets that shot from the box and exploded 50 feet overhead.

Ethan was having a great time. This was the first time that the 4th was fun. He'd ate and had Ms. Candy's cake and now he and his friend Glenny were watching Logan's friend set the fireworks on fire. Mr. D asked Logan for the next set of fireworks. Ethan got so excited he wanted to at the very least take the fireworks to Mr. D. He looked up and asked, "Hey dad, can I take them to Mr. D?" Logan seemed to freeze and Ethan at first didn't realize what he said then it hit him. They were having a good day maybe his other mom was right he always ruined a good day. His real mom just stared at Logan. "Um, I..I mean Logan I'm sorry." Glenny broke the quiet and said Logan was his daddy as he grabs ahold of Logan's shirt almost pulling him off balance. Bradley came up on the porch since no one moved to grab the other bag of fireworks. "Glenn Dale that's enough." Glenny lets go and says yes sir. Bradley was a welcomed distraction as he asked the boys, were they ready to head to the lake since it was dark enough and they had already started hearing major fireworks. Ethan looked as relieved as Logan felt. The boys say yes and run in the house, to grab Candy who was the driver since Bradley came in drinking. The pier wasn't far away but walking at night by the lake was not something Logan was ready to let Glenny or Ethan do. Logan and Mia share a look in the silence that settled after the excitement of the boys rushing in the house. Besides that, Logan wanted to reclaim a family tradition of his when it was just him and Janet they would drive down here and sit in the back of his huge truck bed eat junk food and watch the show. Thinking about what Ethan called him filled him with a completion that he never would have thought possible.

Flashback: Months ago, when Mia and Ethan started staying here at his home, between all the court dates and counseling sessions for Ethan and Mia, and her not trusting her family. One night, Logan had just come home from a business trip. He didn't know what to expect. He knew that Candy and Nikki helped with the kids, but they would be home with her at night alone. She didn't down play his unease, nor did she take offence to it. When he got in the door and all was well, and there weren't any mysterious marks or any more than usual triggered behavior from Glenny that raised his faith that Mia was who she proclaimed to be through and through. That night after playing a G rated video game with the boys they put them to bed and headed out on the patio. Mia had asked where they were headed because she didn't want to get caught up in dreaming of them one day being a family and have the smoke and mirrors of a new relationship, but never get the family. Logan had just sat there and stared at her for a minute and then revealed that though it wasn't as colorfully put in his head he was thinking the same thing. Mia asked him did he ever think that he'd ever remarry. He was honest when he said after last year and part of this one, he didn't think it was in him to open himself up to the risk of loving another woman. Even when he'd readied himself for a divorce born of fear for his child and his own safety the thought of falling in love was beyond terrifying because he'd missed so many signs. He went on to say he fell in love with her power and determination, and her loving sprit before she moved in, but he was scared to admit it to even himself. Mia revealed that though she hadn't married, she once thought that Jerry was the one. Then after everything went down and he showed her just how vicious he could be, she felt that she too would never love any man as much and as hard she was falling for him. She spoke about his openness, his good nature and swore that he was way more than what he gave himself credit for being. Logan loved her and Ethan and didn't want to lose either of them. He went from having no children to one, to two and a lover that wanted more one day. He liked that she worked but made time for them and he tried his best to do the same. They had agreed that if they still felt this comfortable and strong about each other in the next 6 months that they would speak to the boys and see if they wouldn't mind being brothers instead of just roommates.

End of flashback

Logan drives to the pier behind Candy, the boys are helped into the truck bed and they, Mia and himself lay there watching the spectacular show. As the show ends the boys are excited as they watch the grand finale, a rocket show, with music that could probably be heard all the way across the lake at Ivey Mansion if the house wasn't sound proof. After saying their goodbyes to Candy and Bradley, they head back to their home. With Mia getting Glenny in his pjs and making sure he brushes his teeth, Logan is putting Ethan to bed he sits on the edge of the bed and pats the spot next to him. Ethan asks was it about what he called him and apologized saying he didn't mean to ruin anything. "What did you ruin, I thought we had a good time, but that is just what I thought I saw?" Ethan gets his words turned around and tried his best to say he had a good time and just stopped speaking when Logan held out his arms. Ethan months ago, would never have walked towards him even sitting down. Now Ethan walked into his embrace and squeezed him with his face buried in his neck for two reasons. One, he could feel as hot tears ran down his shirt. The man that Ethan was raised by hated when he didn't agree and punished the little boy for as long as he could remember for stuttering. Not wanting Ethan to get himself so worked up he slept bad, Logan embraced Ethan. The other reason was one of not trying to let Logan see him vulnerable which the boys at school beat him up for when Fred the kid that blacked mailed him wasn't around. The only thing that came out of that was that the attention from the local authorities alerted parts of Logan's family and Mia's PI that her son was at the police station. "Ethan, I know you had a good time. I had a good time too, I guess I should have said what I meant which is you didn't ruin anything." Ethan pulled away and wiped his eyes. Logan tilts Ethan's gaze back to his face with a finger under his chin that had landed in his chest. When Ethan looked him in the eye Logan says "Ethan, whatever you want to call me as long as it's respectful it is ok with me. I liked to call you son one day, but I won't do that without your permission."

Hours earlier, Paula drives with a very silent Janet sitting in the passenger seat. The twins were sleeping if you wanted to knock them out car rides would do the trick every time. "Look, Janet I know you didn't want to leave but we got to go home. Tony is not even in Grandville South tonight, Nikki is coming to our house after her track practice for the charity event. You don't have school or the internship this week, so what has you so upset?" Janet says she didn't do anything wrong so why did she have to go back home right now with Ian there. Confusion and something darker crossed over Paula's face as she slowly says, "Last time you guys were around each other you got along I know why he's the way he is right now, so what changed with you?" Janet said nothing worth repeating if that was what she was thinking. Paula let up on the questions and the steering wheel that she had been gripping so hard waiting on Janet's answer that her hands were sore now.

Janet was now curious as to why Ian was there at their house and why her momma hadn't just brought him up to Ivey Mansion something didn't seem right. "Momma why is Ian here, you said you knew why he is the way he is right now, what way is he?" Her momma seemed to be weighting just how much to tell her. Janet pulled her phone. Her momma told her not to start cyberstalking her cousin that it wasn't something that was going to be on her social media sites or at least she hoped not. She then says that Ian was attacked by a man that works for Harold. Janet had lots of questions and now felt kind of bad for not wanting to be there for her cousin.

Back at Ivey Mansion, Angel and Joshua watch the fireworks through the den window that faced the lake. As she handed JC to Joshua, she wanted to take a picture of father and son. Moving so she'd get the side of Joshua's face that had healed the most, she takes the picture. Grinning from ear to ear, she shows Josh the pic. She then says it was going in her photo album or as Joshua laughingly called it, the catalog of every person she'd ever met in life. Yes, it was now a foot thick she'd upgraded the binder size from the 7 inches it was last year. With wedding photos Sophie's and her own, and baby pictures of the twins, of Mark and Paula and of course lots of Jonathan-Chase, and even Vashon's twins had a few pages. Pictures from the other great events like her doing Mark's WrestleMania entrance, which was just what she needed at the time. She could have done without being attacked, but the rest of it watching Mark "The Undertaker" Callaway her cousin get married was damn near magical. Joshua comments on her book making the same joke Angel says, "There isn't really lots of different people that fill these pages, I prefer quality over quantity." As she is about to load the photo paper into the printer Joshua asks her for one more picture. Walking from behind the desk she set up to take another picture he says he wants a picture with all of them. Angel sits to the side of him and they try for a three-person selfie she raised the camera too high and he said it would be a great picture of her cleavage, but he wanted to put this on his desk. Dropping her hand that held the selfie stick, she wordlessly took her phone out of the clamp and got back up. Looking out the window as the rockets zipped into the sky, she asked "Your desk where?" Joshua says at the club. She knew this was coming. As she raises her gaze to his in the reflection of the window, she asked "Are you planning on going back there soon?" He says yeah that he couldn't hide from something he built. So many things popped into her head to say but he was right. Though all their names were on it, there were two Davenports that made it what it is today, and those were Michael for opening it, and Joshua for giving it the magic touch of continued success. She'd been unreasonably mad at the building like it lived to hurt her mate, but the edifice itself was never the culprit. "When you are ready to go, I want to come with. That's all I ask." Turning around she faces him as he seemed to be warring with what to say. He says he didn't want her thinking she had to watch him. Thinking back to the weird feeling she got watching him leave that night made her speak. "That night."

Joshua didn't want her thinking that she had to be his shadow every time he stepped foot in the club, they both held very different hours for work unless they were working together for band stuff. He cuts her off and says "That night is over, and I'm not going to lie to you or myself and say that it is going to be easy going back in certain parts of the place, but the longer I stay away, the harder it will be for me to return at all. I know we spoke of changes and a lot of them I agree with but babe I don't want you thinking you have to…" In a hushed tone as to not startle their child, she snarls she wasn't thrilled about him ever going back but she understood but he at the very least could let her come with him the first day back and that she'd prefer he not close alone anymore. He didn't want to fight with her. "Ok fair enough." He wouldn't point out that the night all this happened he wasn't scheduled there at all, but they'd have to put a better staffing system in place. That part he agreed with.

Across town, Andrew walked into his newest hotel room a familiar voice made him start drawing his gun. Niles sat in the dark corner of the room a smile on his face with a larger gun already trained on him. "That's it Stark. Let your eyes adjust and put away your piece. If I wanted to shoot you, I wouldn't have spoken giving away my position, you'd just be a dead rouge agent." He saw the brief but their curse before Stark holstered his weapon and closed the door leaning on it. Andrew says wasn't that the pot calling the kettle black. "Not exactly, what you believe I have done is not important." Andrew asked him what he wanted since he had come seeking his attention. Niles put his own weapon away, stands and walks the distance of the room slowly. "You need help and in short, I'm the one that can help you. I thought long and hard of killing the man that I took from that scene. Your boss and his mate are not in town so I would say you have a about three days before your status really excites your team. As of this morning you are rouge." Andrew asked was he here to collect. Niles smiles and then let's his face fall back into his trained neutral expression. "No, I believe you have had enough force from the likes of my agency against you. How well do you know your former charges?" Andrew sighs and says enough to know that the minute he goes above ground the family he was protecting will be ready to send him under and not just into hiding. "The entertainer Joshua Davenport you believe he has that much pull?"

"My STOP team nor I were hired by Davenport. The contract I signed was complex but was more than likely drawn up under his father or one of them. I can't believe you don't know this already. If you didn't kill your boss, you may be listed as rouge too right now. If that's fact how can you help me?" He speaks of having an in with one of the people involved. He then asked how the police woman was fairing. "If Joy is who you are thinking of as an in, it would be more like the end. You saw her when she was well enough to shoot the minute, I went towards her she shot me and now that she knows I was wearing Ivey Armor please don't think for a second that she values my life enough to just hit the vest if there were a next time." Niles accuses him of being afraid of Joy, then asked why he would have to rush at her again. "Look, I'm not seeing how anyone you have a connection with could help me." Niles says fine do it his way, but when he changes his mind the number to reach him was the same.

Niles pulls on his jacket and says, "Well right now you are charged with aggravated kidnapping of the person you were charged to protect who is a close relative of a few government officials." Andrew asks how Niles found him. "I knew what to look for." Niles said as he wiggled his fingers and walked out of the door.

Back in Washington, Joy takes Bobby to look at the remains of her house and the reservation security gives Robert a hard time. She'd nearly went off on the guard at the gate when he made a big deal about the limo. She'd pointed out that she'd arrived in November in a driven car and there had not been a problem. The guard told Robert he only had two hours then he was coming to retrieve them. They left before two hours were up even though Joy was sure there wasn't a time limit. She showed Robert where she went to school and the burned-out husk of where she used to live. He said the structure was a lot bigger than he'd imagined. Joy looks up at him and asked, "so just how small did you expect my home that fit the five of us and my father's at home business to be?" Bobby shrugged and said he really didn't have a clue he was just surprised.

As Bobby watched Joy walk around and tell stories that she'd never shared with him about her life here, he heard the sorrow in her voice when she spoke of the house. Bobby pulled his phone and took a picture of the house's remains. Joy looked at him and asked him what he was doing. "Two things really, I want this investigated by more than the local authorities that your mother is so in awe of." Joy asked and the other thing. "I'm sending Logan some possible work if he can get a crew here. They can stay in Ivey Suites Spokane." Joy asked how he was going to get Sophie to offer Logan's men shelter in a high season. "I've already spoken with Sophie and told her what the issues are. She said to find out if Logan was on board then she may be able to work some magic with getting them rooms without as great of a view for a reduced price." Joy says did he really think Logan would uproot a part of his company. "No, he has some people down the road. I saw a Conner Construction sign about 50 miles west of here, which tells me that he has at least a small crew here in Washington already." She mentions Kindred saying he was going to have it rebuilt. Bobby suspected that Kindred was in on the fire, he had no proof but a gut feeling, and his guts had been right more times than wrong. Something was up. He sends the picture to Logan and asks a few questions. Logan sent him messages saying he would have a crew check it out and asked what happened. Bobby gives him the short version leaving out his thought on who would do this and why. Joy asked him again. "Ok, I need you to detach, not think of this as your family but look at this place and tell me what your cop eyes see." They walk around the taped off area as she looks not at where she grew up, but at a crime scene. She points out distance from the road and something crossed her features.

Joy thinks back to what Kindred told her and how he told her. Her brother had missed a part in his little blame game tale. He missed the relief that their parents hadn't been home. "He blamed mom for not telling me, but mom blamed him last night. Someone is lying and I don't believe it is my mother. Those tracks were not made by a fire truck. So, whoever torched the house is driving a vehicle heavy enough to put treads that deep into the grass. A hummer maybe or a truck like Joshua's old one nothing else short of a semi would make an indention that precise. It wasn't raining the day before we got here. Most of the people here grew up with us and are very observant. Yet no one thought it strange that some stranger parked in my father's garden. Unless… Unless it was no stranger."

Kindred calls Joy, before she can say hello her brother says he can't find their mother and their dad is in the hospital. "What happened, where?" He says that he didn't know all what was going on because he was at work when he got the call. He says that their parents went back to Jack and Elation's home last night. "Where are Jack and Elation?" He says he didn't know. "What hospital, do you at the very least know that?" He rattles off a Shelden Medical Center address in a small town near the res. "Ok we are on our way. You keep trying to find mom, and the others please."

Daniel Bryant is riding his bike along a path that he liked to take to clear his head when he had a few days off. A woman walks out of the bushes, and he almost runs into her. "Hey why don't you watch where you're going?" he says as he peddles pass. He risks a glance back; some fans were not above running after them. She wasn't running after him, so he turned his attention back to the road. A car nearly knocks him off his bike coming the opposite way. Pulling off the road and looking back he watches as the car stopped near the woman he'd almost ran over. Well at least someone was getting her off the road. They weren't too far away from the reservation. The woman took off back into the bushes Daniel got suspicious when three men jumped out of the car and chased after her. Daniel rode down to a lower elevation he knew where the path she'd ran on lead to, and if she didn't, she could end up in the lake.

Life charged into a clearing down the hill. This morning made no sense when the sun greeted her, she got out of bed and went to prepare food for the household. As more of a thank you for Jack agreeing to let them stay. Moose had risen earlier to go for a walk. He liked the area. When her eyes rested on his cell phone still plugged into the charger she sighed, her husband was indeed "old school" as her son Jack had called him. She entered the kitchen, and something was off there was no sound, suddenly someone screamed, and she ran towards the sound of her oldest. When she got to the bedroom her son and daughter were in, it was locked she beats on it "Elation, Jack, are you ok?" Jack opened the door looked behind her and then back into the room he stood in front of, blocking her view as she tried to peer around him, he grabbed her by the collar slung her into the hall table. Upon contact with the table it collapsed under her weight. She lay confused and hurting as she stared up at her son in law. He bent down and grabbed her by the hair slapping her in the face. The urge to flee was within her but pain kept her in place. He then stands up pulling her to her feet. She tried to pull away and that's when he whispered in her ear that she was to be killed to prove to Joy that she wasn't untouchable. Remembering what had brought her running up to this suite of rooms filled Life's pocket of fear with anger. "Where is Elation?" Her daughter couldn't be a part of this. He quickly opens the door and pushes her into the bedroom that she only seconds ago had tried to enter, seeing that it was empty of her daughter, she turned to leave and that's when Jack smiled at her and slammed the door. Searching for something, anything to use as a weapon, she grabs a large glass dolphin off her daughter's bureau and tried to open the door and that is when she discovered that it had been locked from the outside. If she could help it, this edifice would not be her final resting place. Looking around she got an idea. She had to leave and get word to... She stopped in the center of the room. Who could she call? Minutes ago, she'd thought of how she'd always got after Moose about keeping his cell phone with him, but she hadn't intended on leaving the house, just making breakfast her cell phone was also still on charge. Looking at the window she moves over keeping an ear out for anyone coming to the door and raised the window. She breathed a sigh of relief that no alarm sounded. The relief was short lived when she looked at the nearest landing the fear that rode as close as a lover's kiss was back tenfold. Stepping out on the sloping roof she launched herself at the garage. Pain swam and so did her vison for a time as she lie near breathless on the roof of the garage. Rolling closer to the edge she flattened herself close to the house as not to be noticed if someone looked out the window. Moving slowly, she makes her way to the rear of the garage, steadied herself and then went over the side. As she hung over the edge of the rear entrance, she let herself fall the three feet to the top of the SUV Jack was so proud of tucked and rolled off on to the ground into a crouch and took off at a dead run into the woods.

Joy and Bobby sit in the waiting area of the hospital. The doctor Havana Howard-Sheldon Luke's aunt comes out, and after reintroductions are made, she says, "Moose Wildflower is concussed but conscious he has not spoken other than to tell us his name, he is in a great deal of pain from his accident. Kindred Wildflower has given persimmons for us to keep Moose for observation." Joy asked what happened. "Mr. Jackal Oxendine claims, that Mr. Wildflower who was in his care, tumbled down the stairs early this morning but refused to get medical treatment." Joy asked then how her father got here. "Mr. Oxendine admitted that out of fear for his father's wellbeing he'd yelled at his father to go to the hospital and that is when Mr. Wildflower collapsed in his kitchen. It was a good thing that Mr. Oxendine was home. We had to call one Mr. Kindred Wildflower and get permission to treat because Life Buckmaster-Wildflower was unreachable. The part that somewhat troubles me is that Mr. Oxendine did not call med transit he lifted an injured older man that was unconscious into the bed of his truck and brought him here. Stayed long enough to tell my staff the information I just relayed to you and left saying he had to get to work." Havana had tried to keep her tone professional, but she liked Mr. Moose Wildflower's books he'd written and the wooden art that he created for years even before becoming his doctor, seeing him so unlike himself and so afraid had hit her harder than she ever thought a patient older than 21 could affect her. Joy asked to see her father. "Of course." She leads them through the doors and into Moose's room.

When they entered, Moose's eyes widened. Joy came to his side and he said, "You have to go." Looking at her mate he says, "Get her away from here please." His voice held a rawness. His youngest asked what happened. He speaks as he tries to piece together what happened. "I left the bedroom this morning before the sun rose in order to take a walk, I heard Elation cry out, turning to check on her I was pushed, you may not believe me, this place thinks I am clumsy of foot in my old age, I have walked miles recently in a charity walk-o-thon without a misstep. The person did not speak and was wearing a mask that looked like a skeleton."

Joy could see this was upsetting her father. She did not want him this agitated and says, "Father, I believe you."

Moose went on speaking his speech pattern evening out for a time. "Upon landing at the bottom of the stairs going in and out of consciousness from the pain, I soon found myself in the kitchen not recalling how I had come there." Bobby asked why he asked for Joy to be taken away from here. "There are things I cannot explain. I heard Jack speaking to someone before he started yelling at me to go to the hospital. The skeleton he said my death would teach you your place. Jack and the skeleton grabbed me from the floor that is all I remember before waking here. We are all in danger we must go." Moose tried to pull himself up but found he was weak as a kitten and collapsed back onto the bed breathing heavy.

The next morning after helping get the twins dressed and fed, Janet went to the door of the bedroom that Ian was in, they returned last night, and he'd stayed in the room. Her dad was even coming home today. She knocks and hears a huff from Pain, Ian said come in. He didn't sound like the cocky older boy that had visited them only a year ago. As she opened the door shock took her voice then old anger flared. "You look like crap. What happened forgot how to throw a punch. You know how you asked me in front of your friends. How was it that you put it? Oh yeah, you found it hysterically funny that that Undertaker's seed couldn't throw a punch like professional wrestling is something you are just born with like it didn't take my dad years of training. Training of which I don't have, nor do I want." She expected anger but he made her angry and for a time doubt herself. What she got wasn't anger. He sat up wiped his face and said he was sorry. He then put the cover back over him and laid back down. "So, you never did answer me what happened, did one of those guys you had laughing it up at my short comings as the next generation female Undertaker, take a few swings at you that you caught with your face?"

Ian gets up and, in her face, she didn't back away, nor did she leave which was what he was aiming for he just wanted to be alone. He was the first to turn away there was no use in being mad at her he was wrong back then and just now. "LOOK, I said I was sorry I can't undo anything, hell if I could, some stupid shit I said to you, and I admit it was stupid, all you were trying to do is not have me unfairly mad at my dad. I acted like a jerk." Her words to him back then ran in a loop here lately in his head. _"Your dad isn't just out here having fun; he is putting away people that could hurt you and making money that could help you."_ Ian remembered just flexing at her and lying because he'd told her that no one was going to touch him. Coming back to the present he says, "back then there was a secret that I had to keep, and it was messing with my head. I should have listened to you. Back to the point, if I could change what I said back then it would still have to come second, because if I could change anything, I would take out the man that hurt my mom." Janet asked with genuine surprise in her tone about his mother. "Can you close the door, I don't know who all is here." She kept staring at him but stepped back and pushed the door closed. He then told her everything, about Stanford Ryan the games he played to make himself look like a cool dude. The fighting and the last fight that had put his mom in the hospital. "I tried to stop him I couldn't if it wasn't for the fact that I stunned him and ran, he would have still been wiping the floor with me until my dad got there. If that is not bad enough, I have a little sister that was born, I'm guessing about 4 months too early she is small, if they allowed me to hold her, she would fit in my hand. Now my dad is out playing Rambo walking a thin line between sane and insane, my mom is in the hospital in New York not even able to defend herself even more than before with my little sister, and I'm here hiding from Stanford the guy that should go to jail, but my dad thinks he could get away with what he has done and come after me since Ryan would like nothing more than to get rid of me, the only wittiness able to pin his lying violent ass to the wall." Repeating everything and thinking about what his dad said had brought Ian to the latter of his statement. Yeah, the house had cameras, but Ian was there and saw most of the crap Ryan did. Unlike his mother who couldn't speak right now, he would tell the agency or anyone that wanted to know what kind of monster Stanford Ryan is.

Janet wanted to break the quiet that had slipped into the room as he brooded but that job was taken from her by her best friend Nikki knocking on her door next door to this room and saying she was here. That meant her dad was here too. He'd agreed to pick Nikki up on his way home since Nikki's charity race was on his way home. Ian spoke loud enough to carry through the door that they were in here. "just a word of advice, that crap you tried to pull with me getting in my face, don't try it with my friends and we will be ok. Don't make my choice to forgive you the wrong one, deal?" They shook hands as Nikki turned the knob and walked in. Janet excused herself. "Nicole this is my cousin Ian. I will be right back if you are here that means my dad is too." After talking with Ian, Janet just really wanted a hug from her dad. She remembered being angry at him, and unsure of how much she could tell him because of how she perceived things and was glad that she'd been wrong. Now they were on much better ground. She knew without a slice of doubt that she could go to her daddy about anything. Not saying he would like everything thing she did, but she no longer had any of Rachael or Megan's warnings of what her dad would do or say to her if she opened her mouth, running in a vicious loop in her mind dictating how she interacted with her dad. She could hear him in the large living room playing with Katie and Rosa. Her momma walked in behind her and said to them both that she was heading to the Last Ride's second location here in town. Paula and Janet both watch as Katie crawls on Mark's chest, he'd still himself only to pop his hand up and tickle her she giggled as Rosa climbed on his leg. Mark says playfully that he's been attacked by munchkins. Janet got a brief flashback of herself using her dad as a jungle gym when she was about four or five. Paula asked where Nikki and Ian were. "In Ian's room. I just came to give you a hug daddy. I'm glad you're home I missed you." Janet gets down on the play mat with her sisters and her father and hugs him.

Mark hugs her back telling her, "Darlin, I always miss you girls when I'm away." Soon Mark gets up to answer the door. Janet comes running through the house saying it's Tony. The system read Tony's legal name through the system and Mark would set it differently. Anthony Mathews Jr. was more comfortable being addressed by his shorter nickname of Tony his father Anthony the first had tried to and nearly had been successful at killing Tony with a knife to the gut, then killed himself via a bullet to the brain. For someone so young that had been through so much Mark respected the young. Oh hell, in his head he sounded like his father. Tony walked in and greeted him bringing Mark out of his thoughts. Tony was a hair's breadth taller than Janet standing at about 5 foot 9. Mark noticed that his oldest had grew more since his time coming home for more than hours or had he just not noticed the growth spurt? This was what he had been warring with for a time since his attack at Glenn's home. Carla, Glenn's wife, and the biological mother of Glenny, Logan's adopted son, had attacked Mark with a drug cocktail that had him hallucinating worse than the mushrooms John and Randy had slipped into his food. He'd went to Glenn's in search of information about his uncle who had been missing because Carla had drugged Jonathon as well but taken him from his own after party. Finding Glenn there they had fought and from there a lot of Mark's memory was filled in by others. During his recovery he'd have a very vivid dream and in it the old fears and sadness of losing his first love seemed like a siren pushing him to make better decisions, or risk repeating ones that caused him to get to the hospital too late to save Nina. The only way he saw to do what he'd promised the image of his dead wife was to leave WWE and get off the road or greatly reduce his time away. Yes, he had tenure in the company but 277 days of a 365-day year was becoming too long. He loved what he did, he was a company man, but he also had a family and he would not fail his second wife and restrain his relationship with his child like he had before. Glancing at Janet and Tony heading into the bedroom Mark says, "It's getting pretty crowded in that room y'alll come on in the den and I'll fix us something to eat." Janet, Nikki, and Tony all file out of the hall both the girls pick up a twin and head into the den Tony grabs the play mat. Mark says, "Ian Sean, you're not immune get on out here." His nephew was sporting a dark shiner and some other minor bruising on his face, but the kid had surely got taller in the almost year since Mark had seen him. "Hell boy, give you about half a year and you'll be taller than your old man."

Ian smirks at his uncle Mark's height comment then says, "Taller not tougher." Mark says smart kid and headed outside to start the grill. Now with Nikki and Janet's boyfriend Tony here, Ian really felt displaced. Their jokes were mostly inside ones. The only person he could relate to in a social sense was Nikki. He stood in the doorway that lead to the backyard and asked, "Hey did you need any help with anything?"

Over in Washington, Bobby and Joy exit Moose's room and get in their car. Putting up the divider Bobby turns in the seat facing a very pissed off Joy. Taking a breath, he says, "Okay next move, we should get some information from anyone other than Jack. I'm not on duty right now and this isn't your jurisdiction we have to be careful not to step on too many toes or make more enemies than we already have apparently." Joy says they must find her mother. "I agree, but if she isn't at the house where would she go?" Joy asked why he thinks her mother isn't at Jack's house. "A man Moose's size does not quietly fall down stairs." Joy says she must call the precinct. "To tell them what exactly? That you were scheduled to return today even though half your team is working for the SOB that tried to end you." Joy's tone along with the intent in her gaze cooled to icy, as she told him don't act like his STOP team is blameless and not working for or with the DCC because Andrew was the one that set this shit off. He wanted so much to just take her and hide her away from all of this, but someone was out to show her a thing or two about suffering and Bobby would be damned to hell if he would allow that to happen again.

Kindred's name broke the silence inside the expansive space in the back of the Hummer stretch limo Bobby and Joy sat in. "Call from Kindred Brother" said the slightly English female voice of Joy's phone. Joy looked at it for a second as she held it out watching her brother's face dance across her screen. She looks up at Bobby "what if he is a part of this?" Cold dread laden her voice as she answered the call at Bobby's silent urge with a nod at her hand holding the phone. "Hello, brother" Bobby cringed at her tone but brought back the expressionless mask his men were used to seeing.

Kindred wiped a hand over the back of his head and pulled at his long hair. "Joy, how's dad? I still can't find mother." Shit, she had him using that formal title shit she did when she was uncomfortable, her discomfort was almost tangible. The last thing she wanted right now was to be talking to him. She spoke again telling him that their father would pull through. Hair grab to control his own tone. "Sister, mine, would you care to tell me what the fuck happened?" he snarls into the line. She tells him what the doctor said. "I knew they should have come to my place. Mother wanted to spend time with E and Jack and now dad hurt himself over there hours after one of our family dinners." His other line beeped. "Hold please, Elation is calling. I'm going to rip her a new one and I'll get back with you in a moment." He said in his best sales voice. He was a partner in a real-estate firm in this area. Joy's outburst paused his finger from answering as she told him that their dad had not fallen down the stairs, and then spoke of someone trying to hurt him and threating his life. Nothing made sense but why would she be lying about this? No, he had not believed her when she was younger before she ran off to college. Here recently he could no longer deny that Jackal may be more aggressive than Elation who of which he could not find today either until seeing her number on his screen, had let on. Kindred stopped pulling his hair what would be Elation's excuse now? She was always full of them. "Have to take this" he said numbly. Joy hung up, and he felt as if he should call her back, but his phone switched, and Elation's voice cut into his racing thoughts. Her words were like a beehive buzzing in his ear. She asked why he'd called her like 20 times and left no messages. To this line of questions there was no self-hair pull to rein in his tongue. "You mind on telling me what the hell is going on? You had one job, make mom and dad comfortable happy while I got their fucking house rebuilt, and you let dad get attacked in your house and then you just fucking vanish. I thought he'd killed you or something. Glad to know you just counted the times I called you. Considering we do not normally speak did you ever think it could be important?" Elation told him to calm his tone with her because she was not in the mood. "Tough shit, where is my mother? Hell, where are you?" She says she just woke up. "You're at home," Try as he may he could not get the accusation out of his tone, "and didn't hear dad go rolling down the stairs like a fucking bowling ball?"

Over near the res, Life runs down a hill, Jack and two men were after her. She stops behind a tree to catch her breath, and that is when she saw a lone figure on a bike down the path. It was the man that had yelled at her so he could pass. He was in neutral colored biking gear and had shoulder length light brown hair that also adorned his face in a long caveman style. Hearing Jack further up the hill, she takes off running. The bicyclist waved at her he didn't look angry anylonger. Life knew she couldn't escape Jack and his friends without help. She ran towards him and tripped, hitting the ground knocked the wind out of her, someone was yelling. Voices blended into the cracking of wood, but that wasn't what terrified her, what terrified her most was that she was tumbling down the hill at a fast rate tree limbs, shrubs, and rocks alike dug into her body at different places as she futilely grabbed for something to stop the quick painful dizzying roll into the lake. She caught air briefly as the hill ledge did not stop her downward motion, her body oddly hit the water's surface. Life tried to swim but couldn't move her body would not listen. Panic and pain merged as she went under.

Daniel Bryan who was on the phone with Brie Bella didn't know why the three men were chasing the woman but with all her clothes on, and the fact that she wasn't thrashing he quickly told Brie to call the police and gave her his location. With that done, he dropped the phone on his bag, took off his shirt and jumped in after her. He soon managed to pull her limp wet form onto a shelter of land not in the direct sightline of where she'd went in. Feeling for a pulse and not feeling one, he starts CPR. He hears sirens and that just made him work harder.

A direction as Bobby had put it, was chosen for them as they head towards where an ex Grandville police officer and old partner of Joy turned fireman for this area had called Joy and told her that her mother was just pulled from the lake near WellPoint, Washington. As they arrive at the center of the clearing on the hill, police cars both state and local, fire trucks, and med vehicles, line the small road carved into the hill. They were losing sunlight fast because a storm was rolling in. Bobby helped Joy safely to the landing where the med crew were loading her mother into the med truck he didn't let go until they were on level ground. He looks at the ridgeline they were down in what looked like half of a bowl. The police were walking a path about 20 feet away. Bobby got an idea and called Jack's number and was half surprised that Jack answered. "Hey Life, just got pulled from the lake." No intake of breath, no shock, no question about her condition, just a readied excuse in an annoyed tone as Jack said that she went off on him and ran from the house this morning. "Was that before or after you helped her husband down the stairs?" Jack hung up. Bobby called Kindred "Be ready for a call from the network they found Life she was rescued from the lake out here near the reservation." Bobby looks at Joy as she talked to her ex-partner. Kindred asked how his mother is. "I don't know but they are loading her in the med truck right now, which means they have finished at scene, and are preparing the Art No Tell for the hospital to review as they transport. Kindred swears and says he finally got ahold of Elation who claims she had trouble sleeping last night after the dinner from hell and Jack gave her some night time med, so she's been sleep most of the day.

Elation gets out of bed. The night time med Jackal had given her wasn't her usual. Heading to the bathroom she wondered where Jackal was. Why had he not awaken her if her father had taken a tumble down the stairs. Her father was a large man how could she not have heard it? Where was her mother? Surely, Life would have heard and come to wake her, if not only to yell at her. Kindred with his overly dramatic self, had said he'd feared that Jackal had killed her. True enough her and Jack sometime fought physically, but it was just how their relationship was. They both burned hot with love and passion. Her little sister Joy's mate, Bobby would never love Joy as Elation's mate loved her. Bobby was hot though. He was surly older than Joy. Nothing she found on the man gave her a lot to go on. She'd tried to keep Jack out of her family circle making excuses for him to not be at the family events. He didn't seem to mind until Joy accused him of being too busy to visit. She had no room to talk the last few times before now her mate had not been able to visit either. Elation was sure that was Joy's doing not Robert's schedule. Joy had tried to cast doubt about Jackal long ago, saying that she believed him dangerous. Jack was a kitten he just voices his opinion louder than most. Joy bringing her mate that she intended to marry home was a well thought out affair Elation was sure of it. If her little sister thought, she was going to outshine Elation her little sister did not know her as well as she thought.

Back at the hospital, Joy sat in the waiting room this time with Robert and their team of guards. Kindred hurried into the room and asked was there any word on their mother. Joy sat stone-faced trying not to show the rolling emotional current that was battling for purchase of her outward appearance and shook her head no. Kindred wore his tribal necklace on the outside of his shirt for once. His dark hair cascaded down to the center of his back. He says he was going to see their dad. Joy jumps up and says she'd go with him. Kindred shrugs and follows one of the guards that flanked his sister.

Author's note: Reviews, questions or concerns are always welcomed. I did take some fictional license with the Washington state or the parts of it I will feature. :End Note


	7. Chapter 7 Without Conviction

Chapter 7 Without Conviction

Over at Mark's home, he had a good time playing horse with Ian. His phone plays a tune he hits a three on his way back to the chair that held said phone. Ian accuses him of showing off. Mark smirks as he picks up the phone with one hand and throws the ball at Ian with the other. "Callaway." He answers as he didn't recognize the caller's information on his screen. A male voice as dead pan as it could probably muster says, he and his son looked nice shooting hoops. Mark fought the urge to look to the tree line or behind him at the houses that lined the ally. "Thanks now you mind on telling me why I've caught your interest before I find you and plant you in my wife's garden?" the caller seemed unfazed by Mark's promise of harm, and said that he should be warned that if he ever came face to face with him that it would cost Mark his very life. This time Mark did look around without turning his head. The caller hung up. Mark heard the ball bouncing and the thunder of his own heart in his ears. Turning back, he tells Ian to go in the house. Ian asks was Mark quitting because he was about to lose. Mark walked back towards Ian and says, "You win now get in the house." Ian tosses the ball at Mark chest pass style. Suddenly all the charged emotion behind his nephew's glare evaporated, as the ball exploded and landed feet away. Both men ran for cover into the mudroom. Mark dialed one of his biker club members and reported directly to the chief of his local police department that someone shot at him while he was in the back on the court. Since moving here to Pittsburg, Texas he'd invited the motorcycle club over for huge barbecues as he'd done when he lived at the ranch in Houston. After speaking of what was said to him before some fucker shot his basketball, he approved the pull and collection of his phone records. The chief says he'd send a few cars out and asked from what direction the shot came or could he tell. Mark thought about it and says, "It would have had to come from the north not from the nearest house though, the treelined area would have proven to be an impossible shot that accurate, the fucker would have hit me if he was any more east." Or if he wanted me dead. The latter a dark thought that sat on Mark like an elephant. After getting off the phone, he pulls up Supervisor and watched the last few minutes of him and Ian playing ball. He calls Harold and lets him know that someone had possibly targeted Ian. Harold asked where Ian was and how he was holding up. Mark looked around the mudroom, Ian had gone further into the house at some time during his call to the chief. "He's in the house. I'm out in the mudroom."

Over in New York, Harold froze when Mark recounted what was said and what happened after. When Mark said he'd called one of his local law enforcement /club members since the state police had lots of guys getting exposed for being a part of the Dirty Cop Clan. "Mark, I will get to bottom of this." Mark snaps at him telling him he had better get a move on, because someone with very good aim was now brave enough to shoot at his fucking house. Harold knew why Mark used the term brave because that kind of bravery only came when you had nothing to lose. In Harold's world bravery of that caliber was a sure sign that if captured the guy wouldn't be alive long enough to stand trial. The truth was that brave wasn't the term, stupidity fit a lot better. They end the call with Harold making sure that this call never existed.

Mark walked into the kitchen looking around to the northern corner of the room he looked for any window that would give the fucker a next shot. Someone had shot at a fucking basketball in motion from over at the very least 500 yards away. He would be impressed if it wasn't for the fact that his nephew and he were standing anywhere near what the fucker had taken aim at. A change of wind and he could be dead right now. After getting his self together, he went in search of Ian. Luckily Paula had taken the other kids back up to Ivey Mansion because Sophie wanted a professional picture of the kids done by Cassandra for another family picture set for their newly remodeled den wall. Mark remembered seeing the den when he'd first walked in the room it had a very old museum feel to it. Classic furnishings, old framed pictures that depicted his cousin Angel and her family and even a fainting couch that Batista had went over headfirst during a fight with his cousin Joshua. Removing the pictures of Sophia and ones that held that frightened look in his cousin Angel's gaze was a huge plus. Now the wall was filling with better-quality pictures of the entire family. The furnishings were updated, and the room seemed homier, than like a museum furnished by Sophia, a woman that thrived on looking the part of someone socially elite but held no genuine warmth inside if her. Sophia had access to lots of money but her demeanor and how she treated people was what set her apart from her daughters. Sophie and Angel were thankfully more like their fathers. Mark walked into Ian's room and froze. Ian was packing his bag. Mark's words cut through the air like a lightning strike. "What in the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Ian halted as the anger poured from his uncle. He couldn't stay here and get them all killed he just got Janet to halfway like him again. He'd been a complete ass towards her and hurt her more than he'd even realized. No, she couldn't throw a punch but her ability to seem unfazed by his words back then then blocking him on social media proved that she was done with him. That trait she had gained from her father and it had nothing to do with learning to fight. Janet had a strength inside of her that had little to do with physical appearance. "I can't stay here. I really appreciate what you guys did for my dad, but if whoever is out there shooting at me had of hit you Janet, nor aunt Paula would ever forgive me. I just got Janet to somewhat like me again after me hurting her before." His uncle's eyes light with a darker hue of a hunter green as he growled the question of how he'd hurt Janet before. Ian stammered over how he teased Janet and how he'd hurt her feelings while trying to show off in front of his friends but that she had not acted differently until she got off the video call then blocked him on her phone and all social media. Mark asked was that why he stayed out of the den yesterday when the others arrived. His uncle stalked closer and took his half-packed bag out of his hands and dumped it on the bed. The movement made Ian speak quickly, "No, Janet told me how I hurt her though by that time I knew but didn't know how to fix it. She came to my room and told me off we talked, and she said she forgave me and asked that I not make her regret it. Getting you guys hurt would make her regent even knowing me."

Mark would never be glad that Ian felt he had to shame or mock Janet and treat her as some of the Houston children that claimed to be her friends had. He was also proud of his oldest for cutting the tie when she realized that her cousin was being a toxic ass. He'd had to learn the hard way that sometimes you had to distance yourself from toxic people even if they were family. He'd almost ruined so much with his sister sitting in the control seat because of her being kin to him, that's when he'd cut her off. It was like cutting off a piece of his body, but it was a necessary extraction before she ruined his fucking relationship with not only his woman, but also poisoned further his bond with his child. Shaking his head to clear the dark thought pattern, he came back to the present as Ian reached for his bag that Mark had snatched from him. "So, you are going to what, run out of here and I'm supposed to be happy that some nut is out there with a gun trained on my property waiting for you. I think that was a tactic to scare us, and I don't know about you but hell it rattled me I'm big enough to admit it. That don't mean that I'm going to let you run out there and get yourself killed, because I don't know if you understand how tricky of a shot that would have had to be not to take one or both of us out. That person aimed for that basketball while in flight and hit it. I admire your chivalrous stupidity, but I'd like to keep you breathing while in my care. Don't you know if something were to happen to you, your father would lose the already thin string that is leashing his sanity right now? From the bullet embedded in my court out back I'd say the Ivey Protectant glass on this house would withstand that impact. You are not to leave this house alone at all. Your idea of sacrificing yourself so Janet won't be mad at you, is fatally flawed. Janet isn't stupid by any stretch of imagination and getting yourself killed would only hurt her more than any name you could ever call her, because death is forever. You'd also piss me off and wreck Paula don't be stupid. Today was a scare tactic do not let him or whoever sent him win by letting him lure you out into the open."

Ian sat on the bed as if he suddenly went boneless. He blinked rapidly fighting back tears of fear and shame for crying like a baby. He says, "My dad sent me here to be safe and they followed me here. I am afraid uncle Mark. If I had of stayed, the staff would have just found my body somewhere in that hospital. My dad leads and trains sniper tactical teams for a living, so anyone working for him willing to turn that skill level against me already has reason to follow Ryan's orders." The shaking was back, and Ian saw spots before his eyes. Minutes later he feels Mark's hand on the back of his neck pushing his head down between his legs, telling him to take deep breaths. Following the sharply giving instruction the spots start to clear. Ian's mind raced as fast as his thundering heartbeat that had taken up residence in his ears. "He's already hurt my mother, and my little sister, and he beat me up a few times. I don't want him hurting you guys either, but I don't want to die." Mark hugged him and the crumbling shreds of his bravado fell away as he cried and hugged his uncle back tightly.

Mark sat with Ian until he stopped crying and wiped at his face. Mark knew that breakdown was not just about today. Ian had probably been holding in a lot to save face. Mark also would have to talk to Harold about a change of plans. Keeping Ian here alone was a formula for disaster. Mark also didn't want Paula and the girls here with a nut shooting at their home. As he stood to let Ian pull himself together Mark clapped the boy on the back and says. "I am going to talk to your dad and see if we can move this to somewhere more secure. I'm due back on the road soon and I am not thrilled about the way someone has a vantage point that high on this residential street." At his ranch in Houston someone would have to get with 1200 yards of the property to even think about setting up a view. Then with the ranch being not as close as this place was to other houses there would be no high point to set up a sniper's nest. He called Harold. Plans were going to have to change because he wasn't leaving his family here to be picked off like a fucking game of Shooting Ducks.

Over at The Davenport, Angel and Joshua pull into the covered parking area out back Joseph's team gets out and follows them to the door. Joshua looks at the chipped brick where the door had hit the building when Bradley had forced it open going in search of him. Stepping inside the hall that lead to his office, his nervousness grew. Flashes of memory cascaded in front of his mind's eye. Angel reached out and took his hand, right now they were the only ones here. He didn't want to make his first trip back here with customers or staff present. "It's just a building." He kept telling himself. Walking into his office his emotional grid was overflowing as he stopped in the doorway. "You can do this." He mumbles to himself. He felt cold as he walked further into the office. his office. The same cold that covered him from head to toe that night. Two times he'd been laid out on that floor unable to defend himself both times stormed his emotional grid to the point he closed his eyes. Images of himself begging Andrew to tell him why he did what he did and phantom pain that went with the auditory illusions struck him. His entire body tensed as it had when Andrew zapped him.

Angel pulled her hand free of his suddenly harsh grip. She moves over and closes the door. Now that they stood alone in his office. Walking in front of her mate, she reclaims his focus by speaking his name and running her hand along his jaw line. "It's ok. It's going to be alright." His anxiousness was wrecking her he fought so hard to come here today, but just this one room was shredding him. Middlebrooks had wanted him to take this slowly. He'd been able to come back in here after Patrick and James had tried to kidnap him, this time was different, they both had trusted Andrew. She'd seen the video and fought her own erg of looking where he'd lain helpless. Joshua's gaze lightened as he watched her gaze as she spoke to him. His gaze flited to the floor as well. Angel drew his gaze back to her own and kept speaking to him. Joshua took a few deep breaths. "You are safe here, no one else is here but Joseph's people and us."

Joshua nodded and hugged his wife holding her in place. Drawing strength from her words, and from her presence. The voice that screamed danger in his mind quieted as he held on to the here and now. Angel walked forward nonverbally encouraging him to walk out of the office saying, she really doesn't like the fact that he was so pale. Out in the hall Angel asked did he want to leave. He looks at her and then at their guards and shook his head. He had to do this. The longer he stayed away the harder it would be for him to return at all. Being outside of the office was helping. Thinking of something, he pass-keyed himself into Vashon's office, maybe it was time for a different kind of change. Inside the office of his longtime friend, and sound man turned drummer, there were no voices or images trying to bring his lunch back to the surface. In here, he was able to draw steady breaths. Another thought runs through his calming mood cutting with an insecurity born of his youth. If he asked to switch offices would he look weak, would he be giving power to his fear? Those weren't questions he could voice to anyone. Angel didn't want him here at all. He'd held Michael's former office from the time he first thought that he owned the club. He could do what Angel did and start new, he could take and change out the furnishings of his office like they had with her office. It seemed to work for her. He could not let his fucking memories, and a building best him. Typing out a message to Vash he tells him that he'd opened his door and at what time. So, when Vash arrived here tonight he wouldn't have to wonder who was in here. Vash sent back a message asking did he want him to come there now. Joshua's quick text of no spoke volumes about where he was in the fight to reclaim his calm here in the establishment he'd helped build. Vash sends back ok but that he was near if Joshua changed his mind.

Moments later was the true test, Joshua headed deeper into the hall through the kitchen and came upon the cooler and freezer unit. Walking towards the cooler his anxiety spiked. Sweat broke out all of him making him shiver as he had before he'd passed out trying to get out of the cooler. The auditory illusions were back and was even louder than they were in his office. A flash of white secured his vison he could hear Angel screaming his name and felt her grab him. Images and the voices in his head got louder. The flashback hit him like a freight train. The white before his eyes changed and shifted into the images and sounds of that night.

Flashback: Joshua talking to Andrew while gathering things for the cook, Andrew's "Sorry" as he slammed the cooler door in Josh's face. The interior lights of the cooler snapping off leaving him frantically trying to remember where the release was. Finding the release all the while fearing that Andrew had killed him. Him beating the shit out of the door knowing it wasn't going to budge. Feeling himself windmill his arms trying to stay upright and having his knees give out sending him to the floor of the darkened cooler. The impact knocking the little wind he had left out of him. Trying to take in air and finding none as he passed out. The sound of energy bouncing off metal prongs and feeling Andrew zap him in his office. The confusion lifting when Andrew admitted that he still wanted Angel and being hit by the one that was supposed to protect him, the helplessness and depression that was never far away had been his only protector from the pain without enough of that anger to combat the fear he was left with no way to deal.

End of flashback

Hands and voices cut through the flashback and the present made no sense. He was on the ground. The guards were closing in on him. Claustrophobia reared its ugly head and stole his voice, when they pushed Angel out of his line of sight away from him, he tried to make them stop. The guard nearest him grabbed at him and Joshua blocked the contact, that's when he got punched for his trouble and his world faded to black.

Angel screamed Joshua's name as he fell to the floor. His eyes were open, and he shook so violently that the guards backed her up. He didn't know them, hell she didn't either. For an instant she thought of trying to push them away from him. She called Middlebrooks instead and was patched through. "Hello Dr. Middlebrooks, this is Angela, we are here at The Davenport and Joshua is not dealing with being here as well as he expected he would." Angel turned the camera on her husband as he shook and fought off the guards. They kept moving her back. The doctor tells her Joshua was having a panic attack not a seizer. That his emotional grid had collapsed due to the PTSD that he was sure to experience. Her words to the guards were out, before Angel could turn the camera back to her face. When one of the guards hit Joshua back for hitting him in more of a block than an attack Angel says, "Please, don't hurt him." Joshua passed out and the man that had hit him and held him down let go. Seeing this as her opening she charged forward on the floor beside her husband wiping his face with her hand and speaking to him. Middlebrooks told her a few things to say to Joshua. "Joshua they can't hurt you anymore. I'm here with you." The guard tells her that he hadn't hit him hard enough to knock him out. Anger made her speak with a crisp tone that drew even the head of the team's attention. "He wasn't attacking you; he was trying to defend himself."

Middlebrooks who had been on her way the minute Angel showed her Joshua, walked in drawing everyone's attention and scolded the tall young man standing in his green and grey battle wear. She'd been on her way to her office when her receptionist patched Angel through. Joshua was thankfully coming around on his own. The guard reached for Angel to move her and she shrank away from his reach. Middlebrook puts up a hand and pointedly tells the guards "Mr. Davenport won't hurt her. Stand down please." The testosterone and adrenaline in this room was volatile. She then addresses her patient "Joshua?" he lies on the floor looking dazed. Angel helps Joshua to his feet, when he swayed Susan wasn't so sure of the guard's words of pulling the punch. Her patient kept an eye on the one that struck him. The guard met his glare and it was Angel that stopped the staring contest as she stepped in between them and drew Joshua's gaze to her own face. She said it was time to leave and she was driving.

Joshua rubbed a hand through his sweat drenched hair and sighed looking at her then nodded. Susan asked them to come to her office. He was soaked in sweat a chill ran down his back as he said, "I need to change and get cleaned up, but yeah we will meet you in about a half hour if you can get us in." Susan said or she could come to the house and wait for him to change and then meet in the den or his home office because they needed to unpack this as soon as possible. "Okay."

Over at the house Jonathon-Chase, Janet, and Nikki along with Tony and the twins sat with Glenny in front of the backdrop that Casandra had brought with her. Mia had not wanted Ethan photographed. Sophie told her she'd respect her wishes. Janet, Nikki and Glenny wanted a picture with Sophie by themselves. Sophie asked Cass did she mind the extra. Cassandra said of course not. Angel and Joshua walk in not followed by their team but followed by their doctor. Sophie poked her head out of the den when the guard's names were not read through the system. Sophie looked behind Middlebrooks and saw nothing but the door close. "Um, where is your team?" Joshua, who looked as if he'd taken a bath with his clothing on reminded her of Luke's ordeal. He wasn't as wet but close enough. He said nothing, walked pass her, and into their temporary bedroom on the first floor slamming the door behind him. "What did I miss?" Sophie asks as she looks at the now closed door, then back at her sister.

Angel asks Sophie "Are you going to be in the den for a while?" Sophie says yeah Cassandra was taking photos for the children's playroom wall. Angel had forgot that was today. Turning to Middlebrooks she excuses herself and asks Sophie into the kitchen. Sophie cracks open a water and hands Angel one asking what happened with Joshua. Angel's gaze lowered as she quietly started "We went to the club. I feel this shit is partly my fault because the other night I told him how I felt about him retuning at all. I was pissed and made it worse by telling him that I was going with him and that he owed me that much. Joshua got up this morning and said that he was ready. I wanted so badly for him to wait, I wanted to ask him was he sure, but I didn't want to start anything again. We got there and his office started it and by the time he walked through the kitchen he was shaking but kept going." She spoke of Joshua's episode and the guard hitting him. "That is why I told them not to enter. I will not have them hitting him when all he was trying to do was stop them from pinning him to the floor." Sophie says that blocking sounded more like Joshua awake but if he was in freak out could he have struck the guy. "Joshua is reaction trained; he was defending himself. The man went to quickly grab him by the arm and Josh blocked him. The next thing I see is West hit Joshua under the chin pushing his face up, and Josh going limp." Sophie pulled up the first name of the guard on Angel and Joshua's team and called Joey, when he answered; Sophie told him that he had better be having a talk with his man Samuel West and then explained what Angel had just told her.

After the call with Sophie Elaine, Joseph had one of his men go find the footage from the club, he wanted to know why West would strike a client. He didn't need the help that was offered to him by a certain man with the surname that matched a fucking canine. Chase, nor he trusted Wolfe as far as they could toss him. After watching the footage, he called West. "Sam, we have a problem." Samuel West asked had Davenport filed a complaint that quick. "No, the story is gradually moving around that house and you should have called me before I had to get word from Sophie E… Sheldon. What happened there?" Samuel says the Mrs. Ivey-Sheldon was not present at the club. "You are talking and still have failed to answer my query. You are there to protect them from harm not to take it upon yourself to bring them harm by quick tapping someone that just got out of the fucking hospital. Please do remind yourself of why we are in this state taking this job on." West tells him of Angela Davenport disallowing them to enter the house. "She just watched yet another person that was there to protect her and her husband, that would be you and the team, knock the shit out of her husband who was trying to block you from pinning him to the ground. You saw the same footage of the abduction that I did, and you really think grabbing him and shoving his wife away from him was a good move?" West said he didn't want the singer to hurt the female. Joey rolled his eyes and sighed before he continued, "Joshua Davenport at no time before he went to the floor was a visual threat to Angela Davenport. Answer me this, if you were losing your shit and someone that was charged to protect you given his history pushed your wife away from you what would your reaction have been?" West sounded chastised as he said he would have tried to stop them from pushing her away. "Guarding his hospital room is way different than being in the field with someone that right now can't afford to fully trust you. I am going to warn you of something I thought was understood you are not strike him at any fucking point during your detail. I saw the look on your face when Angela moved toward him after you knocked Joshua cold. If you ever follow through and strike her, you won't have to worry about being reassigned. This client is not like the Florida job, never forget that Chase Ivey can afford and have enacted phase two. I like you West your field work is the best usually, your client is now a new addition to that household. I will give you two men. I'll send you his file." West asks then who is taking over protection of the Davenport couple. Adam Kingsman is first the other three will be hearing from me because while you were busy upper cutting our client into la la land the others didn't notice the doctor walk in. Adam moved to defend, before she identified herself, if that had of been Andrew or someone sent to kill them, we would have two dead clients on our hands. West, be grateful for the reassignment this is your first and final warning." Joseph ends the call and sends the sheet to West and the promotion to Adam. He then calls Angela his call goes to voicemail. "Hello Angela, this is Joey, due to the action of one of my men earlier today your team will be led by Officer Adam Kingsman, Officer West is no longer apart of Joshua, Jonathon-Chase and your security detail. I do hope this change will show that I have in good faith dealt with my men. Please do not hesitate to call me." Joey felt a presence, closed the phone, and turned around to see Chase watching him. He speaks in a level tone and tells Chase what happened and the measures he took to correct the issue.

Over at the hospital, up in Moose's room Kindred stood by the bed and listened to his father weakly speak of his attack. Moose asked Kindred to take Joy away from here. Joy spoke up and said she wasn't leaving him here to be mistreated when he got released. Moose grabbed her hand that was on his arm and said shakily "They want you hurt. Why do you insist on staying?" Joy says they hurt both him and their mother. Kindred says they didn't know the latter part to be true. Joy pinned him with a cold glare and said "Yes we do mom isn't up for just taking a swim in the lake with all her fucking clothes on. That wrestler pulled her out, and my ex-partner Danny who is a first responder called me."

Over at Mark's place, he gets in his truck in the garage and Ian gets in throwing his bag in the back seat. Mark hit the release for the door and as it climbed Mark made sure they were buckled in and put foot to the floor as they sped out of his garage like a rocket. Mark engaged turbo and the hum of the engine soothed him as he ate up back roads putting lots of miles between them and the house. When he neared the highway, he slowed down no need to get pulled over by any of his kin or one of the DCC. He spoke to Angel, Joshua, Sophie and Paula and after a few adjustments to the flow of who would be guarding who, Ian was to go to Ivey Mansion. Harold had called Bobby and got a list of the few agents still on the Ivey and Shelden detail. No agents could remain in the position of close protection of Angel and Joshua unless they were out with Sophie or Chase. The agents that protected Sophie were not involved with Andrew's detail at all, they also were not promoted from the state police as Andrew had been. Mark knew Harold's level of desperation when he agreed that a non-agent would guard his son.

They arrive at Ivey Mansion and Ian gets out. Mark hurries a bit to get Ian in doors pass the three men in fatigues that stood on the enclosed porch. Once inside hearing their surnames read through the system, Mark calmed a bit. Janet and Nikki came charging into the atrium to meet them. Janet hugged him then Ian. Nikki tells them about the photo and then spoke of how that was so cool. Ian asked why she would be in the family photos. That briefly deflated Nikki's mood. Sophie who'd came out of her office to give Angel, Josh, and Sandra a quiet place to talk since his office was on the second floor, answered the question that was not asked of her. "Hello Ian, welcome to my home. Not that it is any of your business, Nicole is soon to be my father's daughter, that makes her a part of this family." Ian apologized and thanks her for letting him come. Sophie accepted his apology, then spoke to Mark about getting his picture taken. Mark looked down at his clothing and said why not. Mark, Paula and their girls sat for a picture.

Down the short hall inside Sophie's office, Joshua spoke of the thoughts and feelings he experienced while walking through the club. Sandra asked did he honestly think Angel would say she told him so. His silence spoke louder than the quiet reply he gave. When he tried a halfhearted shrug saying that she would have been right. Angel speaks up, "Joshua yes, I said that I didn't want you to return there but like I said I understand I think my words just pushed you to prove something to me when you should have been trying to pace yourself and see whether you could deal or not. I'm sorry if I unfairly pushed you to try sooner than you were ready. Just so you know the thought to tell you that I told you so wasn't anywhere near what was going through my head as I watched you torture yourself I wanted to stop it at your office, but I felt that I had already put my own foot in my mouth enough with you and didn't want you to think that I was trying to stop you for anything more than to slow down the reaction I was seeing in you." Joshua holds her hand asked her if her going with him to the club wasn't to verify whether he could deal then why was she so pissed when she insisted on going. "My request to be there seemed to give you the wrong idea of my reason for insisting on going with you. In part it was selfish, I didn't want you going alone to that place though the building itself didn't hurt you, the people that we trusted did, and I didn't want you out of my sight at the very least until you are fully healed. You had made a remark about me not being your shadow, and that stung so my words were sharp when I insisted on going but if you had of went and dealt with it fine, it would have reassured me that you are closer to being back to 100 percent. Today was a challenge and just like you were there for me when I went back to my office after Deon, I wanted to be there for you. Whatever you need to do to be able to deal. Not for me but for you. If I didn't have you with me, Houston would never see me again. You are way stronger than you give yourself credit for, there is no I told you so, just a whenever you are ready, not as a challenge, but when you feel up to going back whatever you want to do just let me know. With what happen today with the guards," Angel shook her head, reaches out and touched his chin were the guard had hit him. There a was bruise forming in his goatee over the stiches that were already there from his capture. Joshua flinched when she made contact and admitted the strike rung his bell, but he was glad the doctor was there. Angel withdrew her hand and continued speaking. "Seeing West punch you out, scared me until you started to wake." Joshua asks himself for the hundredth time why a bodyguard would use a quick tap, a move banned in tournament on a client. Thankfully the guy had done it right, any harder and West could have broken his fucking neck. Joshua thanks Angel for getting West moved off their team because that was going to be his first move after this session. Angel says "Him saying he didn't hit you that hard made me want him as far away from us as possible. I don't even want to think about if I wasn't there. He leads them, and that was the first thing out of his mouth." Sandra asked a few more questions and they were able to work through some of the issues. She recommended if he was to return that maybe it would be best to do it once again with no customers inside but also not with the guards inside. Joshua says he had suggested that they keep watch on the exterior doors, but West insisted on following them. Angel adds, "which left us open for anyone to come in and catch us all by surprise thankfully it was you doctor, and not someone that wanted to harm us."

Middlebrooks says, "The guards could have been a part of the intensity of Joshua's reaction because not only at the time, did he believe he could not speak to you freely about what was going on in his head, because of your disagreement but also the fact that strangers were once again at his back." Angel looked confused and says that Andrew wasn't a stranger. "No Andrew turned himself into a stranger in the sense that neither of you will ever trust him again as you once did." Old habits were to blame more than Angel and he wanted her to know that. Joshua turned back to Angel and told her him trapping himself in his head and not talking to her for fear of her reaction was on him. Angel admits having the guards behind them made her hyperaware and that could have also given him the wrong idea about her own movements.

Back in the waiting room as Joy and Kindred visited with Moose, Bobby stayed on his phone. Something about Dan O'Sullivan didn't sit well with Bobby. Joy's ex-partner walked over an sat near Bobby and starts talking about how Bobby was taking a hell of a woman out of the single pool. He then says he should know he dated her. "Bingo," Bobby thought. Right after Joy's accident she spoke about an ex but gave him no name. What she did say about him made Bobby want to put this fucker's head through the wall. "Funny, she never mentioned you until you just so happened to call her out of the blue about her mother. How did you get her number, it's changed since she was a detective?" The man says he kept in touch with Joy after he moved here. "That would have been what 8 years ago?" The guy asks what was with the interrogation. Bobby side eyes Dan and says, "This isn't an interrogation, you walked over and wanted to let me know you dated my fiancé at some time either during your time in the academy or right after which would put your relationship over 10 years ago. You left Granville South PD 8 years ago two years before we started dating. After getting demoted. When your relationship tanked because you cheated on her and she tried to leave you. You hemmed her up in the woman's locker room and got caught by your boss. Though it should have got you a court date and some jail time you got demoted then left police work, to work here as a first responder. So, who told you that Joy was in town?" the guy says for someone she doesn't speak about a lot he sure as hell had lots of information. "I make information my business, when it comes to those I care for. So, unless you want to continue sitting here and answering my questions why don't you get the hell out of here?" Dan gets within inches of Bobby's face and snarls that her sister Elation told him she was in town. Bobby stands up not wanting Joy's ex in his face. Dan stands and the height difference made Dan look up at Bobby. Dan says Joy forgave him years ago. He then steps back and smiles saying Joy looked so grateful to him when he was able to get her a ride in the med truck with her poor mother.

Danny walks partly out of the room and stops "Oh and the reason I didn't get handed a court date is simple, tricks of the trade, and her boss was who I was banging. Have fun with your information gathering." Danny walked through the door of the hospital half expecting to be ambushed by Robert Hawk-Ivey, when he made it to the fire department's med truck unharmed, he smiled and drove off.

Bobby tried very hard to stay where he was. That learned Ivey was serving him well, because in seconds of Danny walking towards the exit he saw someone try to ease their phone above a book they were pretending to read. If he let the impulse, he wanted to act upon control him, he'd have cameras up his ass in minutes. Hot sheet gossip rags didn't need reporters, all they needed was some guy like the idiot trying to film some action on his phone, let that slide on to the internet and bullshit is born. The last thing he needed was to bring hot sheet gossip anywhere near him or his family. Also, the less people that knew Joy or he was here was bound to be an advantage. Bobby picked a new seat that put him in position to see both doors. He pulled his phone and resumed his somewhat unapproachable air.

As Joy and Kindred left the no service zone of their father's room her phone came to life. Once again, the number that belonged to her ex-partner was calling. "Kindred, have you got any new calls from this med system about mother?" His answer of no as he looked at her phone with a look, she could not decipher then it was gone. Why would Danny be calling her, she asked herself just as she had when she answered and got the first call from him. The WWE Superstar Bryan said there were three men chasing her mother which caused her to run down the hill and land in the water. He'd told his wife to call the police when he went in after her mother. She would have to ask Luke about how the EMT cert for firefighters gave them use of Sheldon Med firetrucks. Dan wouldn't rank high enough to be a Sheldon Med Fire Caption by now. This Washington outfit could operate differently than in Texas, but she'd been to other states that Sheldon Med was the standard, and it was very uniform in how it worked. Why would the rules change here? Her phone stopped ringing. She must have zoned out because Kindred's unreadable look was one of worry, had he spoke to her? Her phone rang again. Same number. She answered "Dan, is there something wrong?" what he said made her walk quickly back out towards the waiting area. The lie tasted foul on her tongue but she repeated herself as she had years ago. "I did forgive you." She didn't even sound convincing to her own ears, why was he bringing this up? "I must go now." Dan says he knew that her not making it personal speech was bullshit after he got bumped to street patrol. He then asked did she learn any new tricks hanging with the hookers when she magically got put on VICE. "You had nothing to do with that. I made detective and they needed." He repeated what her boss had said verbatim, they needed a fresh face, and she was their newest detective. Old anger and shame flooded Joy as she realized that Danny could have pulled those strings. She hit end on the call. One of the reasons she "forgave him publicly" was due to her at the time commanding officer's advice and Danny's threat.

Flashback: Her boss advised Joy to drop it because she didn't want to be different than her police family. Her Lieutenant who'd opened the door to the locker room and caught Danny trying to choke her out told her if she was going to be a part of Grandville Police Force, she would have to grow a thicker skin. Her HR report ended up in her boss Lieutenant Lainie Borne's hands, even she played devil's advocate to the point Joy stopped telling her story. She wanted to quit, but if she did her family would have been right that she could not make it on her own. That would also have meant that she would have had to return to Washington. Days after he got demoted Danny threatened to show the video, he'd taken 4 years prior on the night they graduated from the academy she caved and apologized. Fresh out of the academy wanting to fit in, she went to Danny's pool party. That night she made a spectacle of herself. Though Danny says she just got really drunk that just didn't fit. The more research she'd done lead her to believe that someone had drugged her she didn't want the flashes of memory that sometimes plagued her dreams. Danny captured her on camera falling from the second story window with no clothes on into the pool. Danny told her the story many times that she yelled something and jumped from the second story window into the pool. She'd watched video and still to this day, she believed by the way she caught air she was thrown. That night she nearly fucking drowned, but Danny handed off the camera to someone and years later her savior became her boyfriend. Their relationship was one of her first, and Danny found everything about her inexperience hilarious. She was always shy but back then she wasn't equipped to handle his anger. Every time he got mad, she tried harder to correct whatever behavior he demanded of her. Sometimes it worked and others she would walk funny for a few days. The day she entered her apartment and found a thong when she didn't wear them yet, was her last straw. She confronted him angry that he would bring another woman into her home after she'd agreed to rent the much larger apartment work overtime just to provide a roof for some other woman to sleep with her mate. That night she'd released of all the pent-up anger and screamed and cried at him to leave. He'd called her fat, stupid, and ugly. He then grabbed her by the collar she deflated in fear, which with him was her norm. When he lifted her cutting off her air, she kicked him but missed the mark. He threw her and she landed on the floor in a heap. She tried to get to her feet, but he was faster. The last thing she remembered was him grabbing both her feet and her hitting the ground. She woke to him on top of her on the sofa with his 9mm pointed at her head as he took her. She was tired, sore, and in a very dark place as anguish filled words tore from her mouth as he rammed into her, she screamed for him just kill her. It must have shocked them both he called her a crazy cunt, and laughed, pulled out of her, told her to go get cleaned up. When she got to the bathroom and looked at her refection, all she'd seen was the fat, stupid, ugly, crazy cunt, staring back at her. She'd stayed in the tub scrubbing until the water went cold. When she'd walked out Danny was gone. She went to a hotel that let her pay in cash she went to sleep with her own standard issue under her pillow just in case he tracked her down. When she went to work after dodging him for an entire week is when he boldly walked into the woman's locker room and pinned her to her locker cross choke style growling if she was really done with him, he would make her death quick. Just as she started to blackout, he released her and she slid to the floor choking, and sobbing, thankful that her boss had come in and caught him. She should have quit then, but she'd reported him to HR only to get a you are either one of us or not talk and as sort of an afterthought he got demoted. Her boss threatens to make her detective test disappear. Joy apologized publicly to Danny the next week got her results back from her testing she'd made it to detective and would no longer be under the woman that sided with her attacker. Up until she met Bobby while going undercover as a hooker trying to flush out a serial killer, she'd sworn off dating altogether. Thankfully Robert wasn't local, or her prejudice would have blocked her from even remotely taking an interest in him. It helped that he didn't carry the usual chip on his shoulder about dealing with local to bring down criminals. His respecting her instinct and them bagging the killer before he could take out his 8th victim was their weird icebreaker. His agency didn't want the publicity, so his report had given all the credit to her and her team. That year Danny had left for Washington. That case got her pushed out of VICE and though she should be happier that she ended a mad man's reign of terror and death, at that time she was just glad to be closer to getting her Captain's bars.

End of flashback

The thought of quitting rode high on Joy's mind. She wanted to get the hell out of here. Out of Washington away from Danny. Though tears threatened to fall she could not cry in front of Kindred. He touched her and with all that was running through her head at warp speed, she did show a bit of weakness as she flinched away from his touch. Anger made her next words to him cold as she felt.

Kindred didn't like the new shade of white his sister's skin was taking on. "Joy are you ok?" She just stood there saying nothing. He touched her shoulder and she flinched away from him. Her sterile tone came back as she told him not to touch her. She seemed to reanimate herself as she walked briskly through the waiting room doors. Bobby stood and walked towards her. Kindred says, "She doesn't want to be touched." Bobby stopped and asked what was wrong. Joy says she must get out of here. She sounded odd, her words were now pitchy and disjointed. Ignoring her earlier request for him not to touch her Kindred reached out and tried to spin her around, Bobby knocked his hand away and pulled Joy against his chest. Telling him if he tried that again he would find himself on the floor. "I didn't do anything to her. It's clear enough though, sorry for my misinterpretation of her words, it is not that she doesn't want to be touched, she just doesn't want to be touched by me. If you must go, then go. Run along, dad wants you out of here anyway. I'll let you know if mother makes it." Looking around at the six men that now watched him as if he was going to do anything Kindred backed away from his sister and sat down.

Bobby glared at him and then called him a son of a donkey in perfect Spokane. Anger flared as Kindred says in his native tongue, "Watch it Blackfoot, taunting me in my own dialect is not smart." Joy turns around and Kindred saw the tears that fell from her eyes. As she told him not to threaten her mate. Kindred stayed seated, confusion, mixing with latent anger stole his English, and Spokane burst from his lips as if he never spoke another language as he says, "Why are you so mad at me? I said or did nothing back there to make you this upset. Whatever has you some filled with sorrow please do share with me what it is that I have done sister mine?"

Joy's phone buzzed at her with a text alert. Ignoring it, she told her brother for his benefit and for her own because Bobby was at her back ready to bring Kindred harm. She didn't want that. She wanted very much to leave but her brother was right, she wasn't here for herself she was here for her mother. Feeling a flutter in her stomach she put her hand on her abdomen. Bobby dipped his head whispering in her ear that whatever she wanted to do they could. That filled her with warmth and strength that had been missing moments ago. Wiping her eyes. She says, "My aversion to your touch has nothing to do with what feels me with rampant emotion. This day has brought on lots of sadness that sits on me brother mine. You are correct, I shall wait here with you. I'm sorry." Someone in the room brought her attention to the fact that she'd slipped into her native tongue with the ease of putting on an old glove and told her to speak English.

After telling his sister she had nothing to be sorry for he placed himself in front of Joy and Robert and spoke in English to the woman that had spoken to his youngest sister in such a disrespectful tone. He puts up a hand stopping the stupid bitch's words and glared at her. "Doltish female, by your accusing outburst I can only gather that, are you wishing to examine my sister's speech for evidence she is speaking in a not so pristine manner about yourself?" The woman stopped yelling and paused with a true "huh" look on her face. "I can assure you with great certainty that is not the case. You were, until you displayed your intelligence or lack thereof, not a part of our discussion." Kindred though shorter than Robert stood to his full height of 6 foot as the woman moved towards him. She reared back to slap him. Smirking he caught her wrist with ease and sidestepped her kick, spun her around as if they were dancing, and gave her a little shove away from him. The woman's female companion pulled her back to her side of the room telling Kindred he had better watch his pretty little mouth. Rolling his eyes Kindred says, "I appreciate the compliment, let that be the last time your friend tries her hand at assault of me, or I'm sure the security in this edifice will escort you out before you are able to find out if your own person of interest is unharmed." Kindred says pointing to the camera in the celling. As if on cue, security walked in and asked the woman that swung at him to come with them.

After everyone in the room were once again seated, Robert spoke quietly to Joy, and Kindred and they agreed that other measures may be needed to keep their parents safe. They all agreed that a lot was happening for unexplained reasons. Joy sent off a text to Luke ignoring the fact that she had unseen messages on her screen already.

Joy W: You know I wouldn't ask if there wasn't good reason, but I need a favor of you.

Luke S: What kind of favor? Are you and Bobby alright? I'll help if I can.

Hearing her brother's voice in her head as she read his quick reply eased her mood. She asked if there was a room like the one Joshua was placed in for his protection here in this part of Washington. When Luke said yes and asked what was going on, her fingers flew over the screen in reply telling him the things that alerted her that her parents were in danger. After she read the message of information overload that even included Robert's suspicion that the DCC was involved she hit send.

Luke lay in bed with Sophie with her head on his chest making ticklish circles around his only body art. They'd both taken off today, and just needed some alone time. Stopping his wife's fingering of his Caduceus tattoo that read "Doctor is who I am, not what I do" He read aloud Joy's message. He sent back questions that would aide him in gaining information since he did not know Joy's parents by name, nor was he their doctor of record. Sophie got up and he watched her move across the room in the purple nightie he bought her weeks ago, since she'd grown out of the others. He loved seeing her in quiet moments as she looked at her reflection in her dresser mirror. As she grabs his tablet that linked him to the hospital's system more securely than his phone did, he thanks her. The fact that Sophie didn't balk at him doing any kind of work when they'd both taken their self out of the work feed was one of the special things about their bond. As he captures the number to the head doctor at the Sheldon Med nearest WellPoint, Washington he soon was speaking to his aunt Dr. Havana Howard-Sheldon, she agreed on changing Mr. Wildflower's room. Sophie pulled her phone and spoke with Bobby and Joseph. Bobby was worried about them staying and gaining more trouble. "What about Life Buckmaster-Wildflower when can you move her into a secure bay room?" His aunt requested a consult. Luke should have known something was wrong. "Granted, so what is troubling you doctor?" Life wasn't fairing as well as her mate. Luke asked questions and gave suggestions. Life's fall wasn't the only thing that caused her condition, add in her time in the water and her not responding on scene and they had one hell of a fight on their hands. Do you want me to fly up there?" That time Sophie looked at him. His aunt says no she was confident that they were treating the patient as best as they could. With a few keystrokes and his digital signature, he upgraded Life's health insurance from basic and provided her a family emergency coverage plan that would allow the hospital to use other exclusive treatments like using micro equipment, or to call in specialist not covered by the basic plan to treat her in the way she would need to survive. He requested that she keep him updated. His aunt said will do and that she may have her brother in a consult soon. Luke was good but his father was one of the best internists that he knew. "That might be a good idea." Luke said as he thought of the extra measures, he'd taken to revive Candy from drowning. Add in the woman's age, her trauma related bone breakage and internal bleeding, and Luke would have called his father as well. The medical journal had named his father as the second best in the world. In Luke's eyes considering the first doctor was not even on this side of the world, his father filled the number one spot, even as a consulting retired doctor.

Dr. Havana Howard-Sheldon sees the upgrade to Life's coverage. With her being married to the only Sheldon brother that didn't pursue medicine as what seemed to be the family calling Pierce Sheldon Lucas Senior's youngest brother had still managed to marry a strong-willed female doctor. Havana hadn't made it easy for Pierce the first American lawyer among the Sheldon bloodline. Havana was ecstatic to see the roles reverse. Sophie her newest niece, was one of the best and only the second American attorney in the family. When Luke had asked, did he need to come. Havana told him no for two reasons. She didn't want her nephew or niece anywhere near whatever the Wildflower family were being protected from. Also, she knew a thing or two about how her profession and hours and the hours of a successful attorney differed, and she would not bring stress on their bond. After speaking about the next family reunion, she heard Luke try to awkwardly end the conversation. Lucas and his son were one and the same as lead doctors of the network both cared about people not just as a number but cared for the masses as only very good doctors did. "Thank you, doctor, you have a lot of your father in you, and before you overanalyze my words it was a compliment. Oh, one more thing I can hardly wait for the gender reveal, is it true that you, nor Sophie would let her doctor tell you what the sex is of your child?" Luke's smile came through as he asked, was she RSVPing to come to the gender reveal party. "Yes, Pierce and I have already planned to be there. Tell my niece that I adore her web vlog that she set up on the family page." Sophie was showing and started a vlog on a private family only page. Sophie comes on the line and addresses her. "I saw you at a Mommy to be yoga dance class. That was very adorable." Her niece chatted with her about the class and asked a few questions about being pregnant. After three children of her own, one set of twins and her youngest son. Havana says, "You may want to make doubly sure your little one, isn't two. It isn't as rare as you would think. Ella and Lucas were the exception not the rule. "Goodnight you three or more."

**Authors Note:** Who is shooting at Mark's home? Who is the true target? Will Joy quit the job that she thinks define her as a person? Thanks to my readers old and new. Please read and review. Last but never least, I want to thank my best beta readers #MyBetaTeamRocks for keeping me on track.: **End Note**


	8. Chapter 8 Never Coming Home

**Chapter 8**

**Never Coming Home**

Over in New York, after a hard day of closing cases or gathering leads Harold returned to the hospital and watched over Natalie. She stirred, the first time he stilled himself not looking at her face because it was not her waking, just another spasm as her body lay trapped in her coma. Then it happened, her movement quickened Harold jumped to his feet. She weakly opened her eyes. "Nat!" Suddenly, monitors screamed of warning. No, he couldn't lose her not now, she was in trouble his mind screams in unison with the loud orchestra of beeps and bells. He pushed the button, though he hadn't needed to, doctors and nurses swarmed the room and backed him away. He walked to the infant hall that held the little girl. As he tried his best to stave off the tumbling torture of his thoughts at what he could catch of the doctors' words. A man he had never expected to see walked up near him and watched the young girl through the glass. "I see you've finally crawled out of your own ass, oh I'm sorry found yourself, enough to come see your grandchild."

"Which one is she?" Natalie's father asked. Harold's words were true. He'd abandoned his family to chase his passion, when he heard that his wife had been killed not long after he left, he felt he hadn't a place in his child's heart anymore, so he stayed away. He still had the recorded messages from his daughter leaving messages on his archaic message machine, the hurt in her voice weeks after she discovered that he wasn't coming back and then to read that her mother had met her death by strange circumstance. Natalie's son Ian had been sending him text messages. The young man's tone in writing turned from anger at his absence to fear that he wanted her to die without even ever seeing her dad again. Fulton Lynn looked at the man that had married his daughter. "You were to protect her, from the fact that this child here and my daughter is fighting for their lives, I'd say you fucking failed." The movement didn't register before Fulton found himself pinned against the wall by a man that looked like the calm soft-spoken man that married his daughter but the man that was pinning him to the wall by the throat looked crazed. Fulton's survival instinct kicked in as he kneed the man in the stomach and broke the choke hold. Rasping he says, "Killing me, won't save them. She is asking for you. You have been down here for an hour."

That was impossible he couldn't have been lost in his own fear and misery that damn long. Harold looked at his watch after scoffing at the older man's comment. A full hour had in fact passed. Fulton shrugged and says he would like nothing more than to go back in and tell her that the one she has requested has abandoned her because of his inability to trust whether he spoke the truth. Harold fighting to keep his mood in check says over his shoulder as he heads to Natalie's room, "The hell you will." She'd asked for him she was awake. Hope that had stood just on the perimeter of his emotional grid, afraid to enter his fear riddled thoughts finally swam closer as he quickened his steps.

Natalie felt nothing of her body and even her mood was so unclear, she hadn't even minded her father coming in and speaking to her. A man that had been out of her life by his own choice for the better part of 2 decades? He'd jokingly said it could be the good number of drugs she was on. She wanted to be concerned for the little life inside of her but though sorrow touched her mind, it didn't stay long. Warmth spread through her once again and brought a smile of relief. Harry was coming, she had sent for him. The thought of the child brought with it another feeling but it was too far away to grasp. Harry had spoken to her, but she didn't know if it was in her dreams or in life. Had he even been here? A flash of the fight with Stanford Ryan assaulted her. "Ian?" She couldn't move. She sounded weak to even her own ears. Her father had done most of the talking. Harold walked in. "Hi" He rushed to her. The movement scared her and fear that he would hurt her struck and then withered just as quickly. He took her hand, of which she could not feel in his. He'd been there the night Stanford Ryan had did this to her. She could only see him out of one eye. Maybe he knew where Ian was. "Ian?"

"No. Nat it is me Harold." She says no, then says very slowly where is Ian. "I sent him away, but he is ok." She was peering out at him from her left eye which was the less swollen one. Her right eye was still swollen shut. She says sorry. He didn't want to hear her sorry. To be sorry would be if the actions that lead to this were all her fault and she would have picked differently. He'd failed to protect her. "No stop that, you aren't sorry. If one of us would change what happened between us if given another shot, it would have to be me. I failed you Natalie, and for that I'm so sorry." He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

In a gravelly whisper she says. "You came. I saw you. I'm here, because of you." He says No! so loudly with such a finality, if she could flinch away, she probably would have. Instead she closed her eyes. Then he ripped through her blurry numb blanket of emotions and said that no matter how mad he became at her he'd have never done this to her. The pain in his voice as he misunderstood her words, spurred her on to speak. Him spearing her numbing med induced emotional cocoon made tears well in her eyes. As her words shook. "No, I meant. I'm alive because of you. You didn't fail me Harry. You saved me even after I'd hurt you." Something started beeping she didn't want to look away from him. She couldn't see him anymore for the tears in her eyes, and her world faded to black.

Fearing that those were the last words he would hear from her. Harold pushed the button, and once more the room flooded with a med crew. They shoved him backwards breaking his contact with her. The alarms stopped their violent song and resumed their lower timbre of beeps. Her father stood near him and said what the doctor said which was that she'd passed out, but she needed restorative sleep anyway. Harold calls Ian and told him about his mother waking. Ian asked to speak to her, and Harold told him that she was resting.

Ian sagged in the desk chair of Joshua's music room in relief. He wanted to ask about the case but figured he would ask without names, just in case Ryan had acquired ears on this call. "So, are you closer to pinning you know who to the legal wall?" Harold didn't miss a beat as he tells Ian not to worry about extra ears, he was calling from a very secure phone that had government level Ivey Tech installed. He then says to answer the question he is close to closing a few cases. Ian asks, "close enough, for me to come home?" His dad said no, but soon. Hearing that his mom had at least woke up on her own, was a step in the right direction. His dad then asked how he was holding up. "Well, I been talking to Uncle Mark mostly, he's back on the road now. He moved the two dogs back to the ranch to be looked after by his rancher neighbors in Houston. Uncle Mark thinks Ryan sent someone to shoot at us, to show that he could find me or have me found. I don't know, but he makes sense because it was one shot and Uncle Mark says if the guy really wanted us dead instead of scared, he would not have let us run in the house. He says by hitting the basketball, the sniper was proving that hitting moving targets isn't hard for him, since we are much bigger than basket balls." Harold says he will talk with Mark about being so blunt with him. "No, dad, it's fine. Please trust me, I won't lie it freaked me out, but he also pointed out the obvious." His dad still sounded angry as he asked what was the obvious. "I'm still alive. I'm not hurt, and I'll take blunt words by someone that cares about me, over getting hurt again, or being killed, any day." His dad says he guessed Ian had a point.

Back in Washington, Danny sets the controlled burn to a house for the training exercises. His conversation with the big dude (Robert) Joy was sporting around town was not improving his mood. Finding out she lied and still painted him with a negative stroke to strangers, was what set up in his mind to call her. She sure hotfooted it off the phone, when he confronted her. So, after time passed and he got bumped down to street patrol it still wasn't enough for her. She made that grand show in front of the guys at the Granville Police Picnic telling him she forgave him. His suspicion that she had another reason for doing that other than letting go, was more than a little aggravating. He didn't want her lies though he suspected that was what she did. Today just confirmed it. He may have cheated, but she played him. After sending her pictures of her and Robert Ivey at the airport, he threw the phone into the window and watched it burn. He logged into another tablet that was going into a fire soon and pulled older images and a nasty little set of videos that he'd secretly taken of some of the times that he'd convinced her to role play with him. Reflecting on how much of a newbie she was to the BDSM game was priceless. He watched the video in it he was covered, at no time could the watcher see his face. He edited over his own voice. Since she didn't forgive him for getting caught up in social climbing his boss, he'd make her regret lying. Police and EMTs had to be on scene just in case the new firefighters failed to put out the controlled burn.

Walking around the corner Danny bumped into none other than the Lt. Detective Jackal Oxendine. "I have what we were talking about. If killing off the parents don't have her running scared this will." Jackal says that both parents were alive as of now and to shut up. "Hey, that's not my fault, I did my part I torched the house and I pushed the ancient one down the stairs. I already sent video to Chief Patterson. He says his sources say that she missed her first official day back to work as of today. She'd be on leave anyway so he really can't push from where he is, but we can."

Jackal smirks as he takes the memory stick. "It's funny how such a small thing has the power to ruin a person's life." Jackal pockets the drive and walks away. His team was still attempting to get into Joy's work files. Her passwords were not the usual easy to guess passwords. He paid a few of her underlings through a gaming app to try to crack her passcode and break into her work computer. She had files that could expose more people than she thought. Without Patterson or their state Chief Jerry Miller to give the word they were at a stalemate. Jack grinned again as a plan better than the one he agreed to formed in his mind. Jack watched Danny who was dressed in all black complete with a hood that obscured his face, and who now sounded more like Bugs Bunny with the voice editing, giving the young female that his wife was so envious of, orders. Joy didn't look so tough now. He peered at her lower half and found her tattoo it was of a bird. He was getting aroused when Joy with her stiff dialogue agreed to use a safe word as she knelt in the middle of the dark bedroom. Danny feeds her fruit. Jack watched as whatever Danny fed Joy kicked in. Her tracking wasn't great, and she almost tipped over. When Danny cuffed Joy's hands behind her back with her own standard issue cuffs and asks to gag her, Jack's fucking phone rang. In a gruff tone he answered. "What do you want?" His spoiled wife yelled at him about not waking her when her father fell down the stairs. "I handled it, I got him to the hospital, and I have it on good authority that he is well." She spoke of how her mother got pulled from the lake. "You are yelling at me have you not taken your meds today? I can't handle you acting like them. We need time away from here, away from your toxic family, get packed and be ready when I get home." She scoffed at him and told him not to take that commander tone with her she was going up to the hospital. Seeing their little sister in freeze frame on his phone, only years older than when he first met her as Elation's boyfriend was making him hard. "You're right dear, I should have told you. Your mother is a looney tune. She went off on me, and then ran from the house. You sounded just like her just now yelling at me. Is that what you want to be just like them?" That shut her up. He told her for years that her acting like her parents wasn't mentally healthy, and very unattractive, he'd even coaxed her within the last 4 years to get help at a friend's office. "Go, take your med, and wait for me, I'll be home soon, and we can grab you some food, and then we will go visit our folks as a unit. We will show them what love really looks like." She used what he liked to call her little girl voice, as she said yes sir. "Goodbye." As the call ended, he watched the entire video. As he reached his car and got in, on his screen Joy stood naked in the middle of the room letting Danny hit her with something covering his hands he never hit her in the face, or lower arms, but the back of head and her lower body seemed to be fair game. She screamed and cried into the gag with the harder punches until she passed out and seemed to just melt onto the floor. In the second one, Danny spoke to Joy about how tough she was. She was wearing gym clothing. He asked her was she up for some playtime. She hesitated and he laughed at her. Jack noticed when Danny bashed her inexperience, was when he could challenge her to do something and she would do it. Jack thinks as he watches more that Danny must have been slipping something into her food for each of these playtime videos, because where she always told him no, within minutes she'd cave, when he fed her and played with her, she would smile at the camera. He knew that look on her face, it was one she shared with her older sister. He'd been drugging or having Elation drug herself for years. Jack watched the new firefighters put out the fire. One of the female ones that caught his attention. "Talbot, get over here." The young lady looked at him then at Danny for permission to approach him. Danny must have nodded because she walked over. Pointing to his radio where he could listen to the fighters give each other orders. "You did really good in there. I'll see you tonight at the bar okay." She grinned and asked was he asking or telling. "You'll figure it out." He winks at her then drove away. Danny called him and told him not to mess with his new toy. "I do what I want, and whomever I want, do not forget your place in this clan Danny Boy. You are below me in region as well as nationally." Danny stiffly apologized. "That's more like it. You don't have to like me; you must respect me. Don't let your bravado get you cut from the Dirty Cop Clan. Please do remember that the DCC is paying for your sports car, and house. Pedestrian homelessness looks good on no one, goodbye."

Elation took her med. She couldn't remind Jackal of her parents, that had to be wrong. She was wild and free not all mean like her mother, and father, or stiff and unfeeling as her baby sister. She only would take half the dosage; she didn't want Kindred calling her names when he saw her. She would walk in and take charge with her husband at her side, it was her birth right, she was the oldest. Hearing the mail truck leave their block, she goes to grab their mail. As she walks back to the house, she sees her name and opens a letter from her doctor. She read as she walked and almost tripped up the stairs. She was acting like her mother, standing out here not paying attention to her surroundings. She sneaks a peak at the letter again. She was with child, happiness filled her as she closed the door leaning on it. This time she had no fear that Jack would be angry at her. Years ago, when their love was still new, she never admitted to what Joy had claimed she heard. The night Joy had eavesdropped on her and Jack and made Kindred ask her weird questions for months even after Joy had left for college. That night after Jack had got all mad and accused her of cheating. Joy came to her bedroom door asking was she ok. As if she really cared, Jack had told her how Joy looked at him and wanted him. She'd told Jack that she was pregnant that night and he'd claimed she couldn't keep it. Jack had not believed that the child she was carrying was his. They fought and fought he'd left her, later after Joy had gone to college, Jack came back. He arranged everything, after making sure she had not told her family about the child, he'd sworn her to secrecy, and she'd had her baby in his friend's office after hours. Though she sometimes swears she heard the crying. Jack told her that her memory was not to be trusted, she'd been very sedated by the time it was her turn. Jack said that the baby was dead at birth and he'd handled it. She'd woke back in the car cleaned up, sore inside and out, her skin had burned from her cleansing of herself she hadn't remembered that either. Jack had even stopped touching her for a full week. In one of their arguments she brought back the violent part of his passion, she said no to him, and he slapped her, and she slapped him back. Shortly after that night, he'd got a promotion and a huge bump in pay. He demanded that she drop out of college, when she'd refused, he pulled out a huge ring and said she didn't have to go back to school. When she told her parents of her plans to quit college, they were mad, and her father put her out. Jack made up for that, and took her on a trip, she didn't remember most of it with the drugs the doctor had given her to get over the pain she was in. When they returned, she was no longer a homeless shell of the child her parents had thrown away, she was a married woman with a huge house off the reservation. Joy wasn't the only one that got things done.

This time would be different, she could feel it. Though she felt Jackal pulling away, this child would save their marriage. She'd married and kept her marriage together, unlike Kindred, who if his dinner time announcement was true, was going for his second marriage. His first wife had divorced him and sued him for full custody of their children. Kindred had been devastated but Marie, his ex-wife, had hired one of best legal groups money could buy. That's why Kindred was particularly nasty to Joy and her little rich boy Bobby Ivey, Robert Hawk-Ivey's family had helped Marie divorce Kindred and take his twins. Marie was the only person Elation had ever witnessed her mother truly hate. Kindred now lived in his own huge house, but it was just him. Elation wouldn't believe Kindred had met someone until the stupid bitch was being led in front of the family by her nose or at the very least her ring finger. Elation had been jealous of Kindred's success in love, he had it all and 5 years ago she made sure to keep reminding Marie that she could do better. Kindred was no match for the rich daughter of an engineer, and her new hubby a rancher that made millions. Kindred was way out of his league. His drunken admission to her and their parents after their mother asked where her grand babies Marvin and Mara were, sent Kindred into a crying dramatic fit as he spoke of how he tried everything, but his marriage was over as of February 15th of that year. Elation believed that was the real reason behind Joy not having Bobby come with her until now. Joy as the baby sister didn't want her boyfriend near their family either. Joy started using her line saying that Robert was on a case or out of the country. Elation had kept Jackal away from most family dinners because he always compared her to them afterwards, she would lie about what day the event was, and tell her parents that he was busy on a hot case. When Joy spoke of Robert, she didn't give a last name until last year when she said that she was moving in with her longtime boyfriend Robert Hawk-Ivey.

According to the letter Elation was six months along, Jackal had accused her of being fat at the family dinner that dissolved into chaos all because Joy was flaunting her mate. Elation had told Danny about Joy coming to town and he'd been overjoyed. Poor man worshiped her sister, and Joy had tried to ruin him. She calls Jackal. It went to voice mail. She left him an excited message proclaiming, "I'm not losing my figure because of food or old age, after all, babe we did it, I'm pregnant, call me back as soon as you get this. I can hardly wait to see the defeat on Joy's face when I tell her my baby will come first. Love you, bye." Her mother and father would get her child as a grandbaby that they could love and then she would be loved even more than Joy for once in her life she could taste sibling competition victory.

The other night at the dinner Jack had claimed that his eyes wandered that one time to another woman because he still blamed her for losing their first child. He'd said they could have kept it if had of survived. That night was one of the reasons she'd agreed to start taking the meds. Jackal got an even better paying position recently, he'd spoke of getting her pregnant or letting her keep the house and moving on. He'd got her pregnant and he would stay. She goes to their room clutching the letter to her breast. Not only was she with child she would beat Joy to the hospital and have the monopoly amongst her siblings, on marital love, and a child finally. Second guessing her decision to not medically prepare for her next family moment, she took the other half of the pill. She would have to talk this med situation over with Jack's friend her therapist. This time she would tell them all. She wasn't super large as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had hid a full-term pregnancy in her early 20s this was different she didn't have to hide anymore. She spun around and landed on their bed just lying there in pure bliss. Jack would be calling soon, or he'd walk through the door and be so happy. Her med made her sleepy sometimes this was one of the newer ones and it took her under fast. The recurring dream of her first pregnancy tortured her again she heard the crying. In the dream the nurse that strapped her hands to the railing smiled at her husband. Jack got in her face with tears in his eyes, Jack pressed her oxygen mask back in place as she tried to tell him with her eyes that she wasn't getting air until she must have passed out.

Hours and a few drinks earlier Jackal knew he should go home, but the little female that caught his attention at the controlled burn that made Danny lose his mind for a second, consumed his thoughts. He went to the local cop bar hangout and played pool waiting for her to show up. His chief nodded at him and his phone rang again he, looked at his screen and "I'll get home, when I get there." The chief laughed and said he wished he could be that tough with his wife, but she'd skin him. Jackal smirked but wisely said nothing. With that he let his spoiled wife's call go to voice mail. The female firefighter Talbot walked in and the hunt was on. Clapping his chief on the back he says, "Excuse me chief." The Chief didn't even look up as he set up for his shot and says for Jack to go answer his phone. Jack went into the outer part of the bar. After flashing money and buying her drinks he invited Dina Talbot to his secret second house near Lake Washington. She tells him that her old car would never make it to Lake Washington. He checked on whether Danny was at the station tonight finding out from one of his clan boys that Danny was heading to the hangout he says to Dina, "You drive back to your place I'll follow you and then I'll drive us up to my place by the lake." She says she was just going to leave her car here since she'd done it before. "Danny is coming, and I know he feels strongly about you, he's kind of overprotective of his new fleet. It is perfectly your choice." She agreed for him to follow her and said that Danny was her loud-ass stepbrother that never really liked her. "I'm sure he likes you just fine."

She got in her old Buick and sped off. Jackal drove at a more sedate pace. Dina's father called her worried that she was out with the wrong crowd according to Danny who was just looking out for her. She'd had a major screaming fight with Danny this afternoon and now her creepy stepbrother was suddenly so concerned. "Daddy, I'm home, I am going to bed so you can tell your son that he won, my friend didn't show, and his little sister is home." Her dad told her to dial back the attitude and don't forget to charge her phone. "I am home, and I'm going to bed." Her dad let her off the phone. Danny texted her and said it was good she was home. She accused him of getting that from their dad. He said no he could track her through her phone. That freaked her out. She typed back "Eat me bitch. Oh, I mean goodnight stepbrother." She was 22 had filled one of the three female spots on the local fire department and didn't need her creepy stepbrother virtually trying to babysit her. She plugged her phone into the car charger, got out locked her doors and put a little swing into her walk as she walked back to Jackal Oxendine's midnight blue Cadillac Escalade. As he turned on to a back road, he asked her for a little pregaming. She says, 'Only if you feed me first." He'd smirked and handed her a phone telling her to call them something in and add the word friendly as the discount term. She asked what he wanted. He orders a mega taco; the thing was 20 bucks by itself. She smirked and said "Do you want fries with that?" He chuckles and says sure. He tells her don't be shy just order whatever she wanted they had great food. Dina had just broke up with her ex and he'd been a super cheapskate. Jackal grinned and asked what that look was on her face. He was preceptive too. She was falling for him he had all the best traits she hadn't got with her ex. Jack was obviously wealthy, didn't mind spoiling her, and he was sexy without being overly cocky. "I was just thinking of the fact that you are so nice to me and we just met. I think I'll have the lobster combo." He says good choice. She put in the order and almost dropped the phone. Her meal by itself was 65 dollars. She put in the discount term and it took 20 dollars off. She leaned over and unzipped his fly. He was huge. She used both hands and her mouth until he slowed down and told her to stop. He sounded pleased though. He drove into his huge garage. "Where's the food?" He said it was being set up on his deck as they spoke. They headed to his deck that overlooked the water and ate. It's really beautiful out here. He offered her more wine. "Sure."

After their meal provided by a DCC friend who knew to slip some extra in the meal that wasn't his usual, Jackal waited for Dina to come out of the bathroom, his phone buzzed at him again, he turned it off and put it with his clothes. Dina came out in a bra and panties, and it was playtime. She was good and he made sure to give her a good screw. He asked if she wanted to take a stroll on his private beach. She agreed after getting dressed they went to the lake. She asked why he was still wearing his wedding ring. He jerked his hand out of hers and says, "Because, I'm married." She asked him to take it off when with her since they were a couple now. He scoffed at her and said, "I don't get in relationships outside of my marriage." She threatened to go to her high-ranking stepbrother if Jackal didn't properly date her. Jackal outwardly played up fearing her threat and took off his wedding ring. As they reached his deck he says, "I'll be right back. I need a drink." She asked if he was trying to get her drunk. "No, I said I need a drink, but if you want some, I wouldn't be rude and refuse you." She tells him to put away the wedding ring while he was in there, and bring the bottle of vodka, and the cola she spied on his counter out with ice cubes since she liked hers cold. Blinking to keep his eyes from telling off on him he says, "You are so bossy to be so little. I will do you one better, how about I get you a glass of ice and you can pour your own." He hoods his eyes looking at her cleavage and runs his finger over her lips before she says something that will anger him more and rush his actions. "I'm afraid, I tend to be heavy handed. I have never been good at mixing drinks." She agreed that she would mix their drinks because she was excellent at it. He kisses her and says, "We will see." He left her siting on his back deck that overlooked the lake.

Dina thought to herself, someone had to put a rein on his enormous ego and since his wife couldn't she was the woman to do it. Yes, she'd threatened to tell her stepbrother but truth was, Danny and she were not the defend you, kind of siblings. She had not stayed at the bar long enough for Danny to appear. Jackal walked out and handed her two tumblers one with her favorite type of crushed ice and one that had orange juice in it. She poured the vodka over her ice and then poured the cola in heavier than usual. She poured vodka into his orange juice. When he reached for the glass, she noticed that he'd taken off his ring and must have put it in the house because his swim trunks did not have pockets. After finishing their drink, she noticed him watching her. When he gets up and bends down in front of her asking was, she ready for round two. She felt hot all over and this time it didn't fade like it did when they were having sex. She had drinks at the bar and with dinner and this one. "I think I better be getting home; I'm not feeling so good and I have an early shift tomorrow. Danny will be worried."

Jackal grinned took her by the hand and lead her across the kitchen that led to his garage. She talked about how Danny and she were step siblings and how he'd tried to ruin her date. "Don't worry I'll drive you home that way Danny won't be the wiser and there will be peace between you two." She giggles and says, if he dumped her, she'd tell Danny. With a smile. "Why would I dump you? You and Danny Boy are my best friends." He turned on the air making her shiver. "What's wrong?" her words tumbled on top of themselves about he was going the wrong way as she passed out. He drove down a back road. DCC had a few properties that were to be control burn sites. They usually hid files or electronics that connected them to crimes. He found a house far from his secret lake house. Looking at the small woman she deserved better than a quick death. She'd waited until they finished screwing to threaten him with Danny. He walked in to see if he would need anything. This place was furnished for sale as a three-bedroom farmhouse. He didn't like the word no and he hated when women tried to control him. Dina Talbot was about to find out just how much. He found what had attracted him to this property. The place had a large hidden jacuzzi recessed into the floor of the master bedroom. At the push of a button the thing rose from the floor and started filling with water. Getting it to a decent level he stopped the water flow.

Outside Dina wakes up and looks around confused. Jackal walked back to the truck and opened her door. "What is this place? I thought you were taking me home." He said he thought about her comment about them being a couple. "Look, I was half kidding. 'I'm not going to tell Danny shit." He looked hurt and asked so she didn't want him either. "I do, wait, but what about your wife?" He tells her how his wife really doesn't want him anymore because she is cheating on him and Danny sent him the video as proof. He opened his tablet and handed it to her. She watched what must be his wife riding a dude in a hood. Looking closely, she gasped. Danny was banging Jackal's wife she could tell because of Danny's frame and the fact the person moved like her stepbrother. Jackal asked what she saw. She looked up at him and said, "I know who is sleeping with your wife, it's Danny." Jackal grabbed the tablet and flung it to the ground. He then put his hands over his face mumbling a gruff sorry. Dina flinched away from him ready to pull the door closed if he turned that anger on her. "Me and Danny aren't close, he plays big brother in public, but he is a real creeper. Ever since he moved back, he tried to sleep with me yuck by the way, to get back at me, for turning him down he threatened, and attacked a girl I was tutoring, she was 15 and he really messed her up. She ended up killing herself."

Jackal smirked with his hand covering his face. He drops his hands to his sides and his gaze to the ground and says, "So you weren't really going to tell Danny about us? I could lose everything before I divorce her. You at least pretended to like me before. I ruined it. I do appreciate that. Can you please stay with me tonight? I will get you to work on time I promise, I just don't want to be home by myself. My wife told me she was going to be in Portland at a family thing. I'm such a loser." She says he's not a loser. "I need another drink. But I think I'm out of booze."

He was totally broken about his soon to be ex-wife cheating on him and he called Danny his best friend. Her stepbrother was such a creep. She looks at the clock in Jackal's ride and says, "It's only 8 we could head to a store and come back have some fun." He shrugs, she gets out of the truck and stands on her tip toes kissing him. "I don't kiss losers. You are a great guy that loved your wife but since she wasn't giving you any you needed to get some and saw that video and didn't want me thinking I was your girl, I get it." He asked how she could read him so well. "You fucked the shit out of me like you were on a desert and I was water. I got caught up in the fantasy that a guy like you could like a girl like me."

He says, "A girl like you?" forcing confusion into his tone. He put his hand on her collar and slides his fingers along her cheek as he spoke, she pressed her face into his hand. "I'd loved a girl that liked me, like fucking me," he put his finger in her mouth, and watched as she sucked on it "a woman who appreciates me and wants to be spoiled." He moves his hand and sighs, "My wife is none of those things. We married young because she was pregnant, and she got rid of my baby." Dina put her hand to her mouth and teared up. "I'm sorry, it was years ago. Look, I really don't want to drive right now can we just order something? I really enjoyed when you ordered for me. It's the small things." He parks in the garage and they head into the house. She thought this was his home. Soon enough it wouldn't matter. He opened the liquor delivery app typed in (date) in a box. The word disappeared the and word active appeared. Once more, he handed her his phone and asked, "Will you do the honors please? They have celebration baskets, if you want you can get one to celebrate you becoming a firefighter. I saw you at the hangout but didn't get a chance to congratulate you."

"Thank you, sure." She takes his phone and got the same sticker shock as she did with the meal. The Vodka and Coke basket included chocolates and a message label that you could keep. She typed in Congrats to Dina. Hit send and says, "it said it would take 30 minutes to get here." He asked did she do drugs. She says, "Just weed but it is legal." She reached in her purse and pulled out an edible and popped it in her mouth. He asked better. "Ha ha" he takes her jacket and put it in the closet. She sits in the living room and looked around. "it's looks really storefront in here, did you decorate?" He says no his wife did. "Sorry."

He walks over and sits next to her. "You don't have to be sorry for being yourself. What would you say if I asked for a little pregaming before the drinks get here?" She said sure, he patted his lap and she climbed on pulling her dress up. He slides into her filling her. She went up and down bringing him close to losing it, he slowed her down, stood up with her still on him. He takes her to the rug and pounds into her. She squeaked and came when he went as deep as he could and let himself fill her. For every minute she continued to live his excitement grew. She was so impressed with what she thought he was spending on her. He could see it in her eyes as she ordered. He'd sacrificed a lot more than money to get to this level in DCC. The perks were sometimes worth it. Soon the drinks arrived. He presented her with the basket. He pulled glasses from the box. She ate some of the chocolate, and he made her a tall glass of pre-spiked vodka with Cola that had a powerful stimulant added to make the drug hit her faster. He told her he wanted his straight, he'd poured himself water and added ice. They toasted her success and she drank deeply. She grabbed the bottle with her name on it asking if she could have more. "It's your gift, you've earned it." She said she loved the taste as she ate more chocolate. He watched her as she drank the entire bottle, the candy that would keep her thirsty and wanting more was gone too. He put on some music and asked her to dance with him. She stood and swayed. He walked her into the master bedroom. She crawled on the bed. He got behind her and told her what to do she put her ass in the air and moved back until she had no choice but to lean into him or fall off the bed. "You didn't like it in your butt, you said it hurt. Now tell me you want it." He was testing how spellbound the drug could make someone as small as she was. She said she wanted it. He slid in his tip and she tensed. "Relax you deserve this. Don't scream, keep quiet no matter what ok." She repeated his instruction and said thank you and relaxed, he rammed into her hard, she trembled putting her hand over her mouth so he wouldn't hear her sobs. He stayed there as she pulsed around him. After driving into her as far he could, he pulled out, she was bleeding. He told her to set on the floor and suck him clean. She complied better than she had at the lake house not even questioning where the blood came from. "Get up. Take off your dress." She staggered to her feet and pulled at her dress she was flush. He hugged her to him she was hot and breathing a little harder. He put his hand over her heart and felt it racing. "You look thirsty." Sitting her back on the floor. He poured the rest of the Coke in a cup and handed it to her. "Here drink," she trembled but managed to drink the last of the Coke. He helped her to her to her knees and took her dress off. Putting his lips at her pulse point her heart was still racing. He kissed her and liked that she was winded and dazed. "What time is your shift tomorrow?" Panting she says 6 a.m. "Where is your phone? I'll set you an alarm so you can wake me." She said she left it in her car at her house because Danny was being creepy. "That's ok, I'll set one." She had a fever her face was getting hot. "Get up and walk for me. You need to move around." She stood swaying. He took her hand and walked her fast around the room. She mis stepped and clung on to him breathing heavy. He tells her to get on her knees she slides down his front and put her hand to her chest. He grabs her by the hair and pulls her panting mouth on to him and pushed in and she spasms and starts choking. Dina's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she passes out he pulls out of her throat and slapped her. She opened her eyes and started shaking as she said her chest hurt as she put her hand there and breathed hard. He moves her hand from her chest and put it behind her back and told her to keep it behind her back. He liked this drug he could control her up until he made her body fight back. He grabs a zip tie from his bag. "Put your other hand behind your back." She complied he zip tied her hands. "You want me to warm you up?" She says yes on a shuddering breath. The pain on her face as she couldn't seem to catch her breath gave him an idea. He walks out and grabs the label that congratulated her. He quickly helps her over to the sofa that faced the jacuzzi and sat her down. She looked up with fear in her gaze. "I'm not going hurt you." The fear drained from her face as she laid back with her chest heaving. "We have been moving around and you seem to be having a lot of trouble keeping up. You look so young. How old are you?" Dina says 22. Jackal writes and says "Happy 22nd D-day." and put it on her heaving chest. He took the tablet and took a picture of her. She looks confused and says thank you. "Danny is going to love that picture. You look great, all sweaty and naked." She panted out that Danny will be mad. "Don't worry, I'm going to take you away from him." She says thank you. "You still can't catch your breath?" She shakes her head no. Walking to her purse he takes her container of edibles hold them up says, "These will help you breathe soundlessly, so your chest won't hurt anymore." Dina nods as she sits heaving with her hands tied behind her. "Tell me when you want me to help you." She pants help me please. He walks behind her as he put the gummies together and used her melted ice to wet them. "Lay you head back on the back of the couch it will open up your air way. But you know this you are a skilled first responder. Your family must be proud of you." She smiles and pants yes as she looks up at his face. He tilts her head back she opens her mouth wide he dropped the candy into her throat. Then put his hand over her mouth. She gaged then stopped breathing, her eyes twitched rapidly her mouth opened under his hand. "See, no more heavy breathing" Her body started seizing. Jackal didn't move his hand until her body stopped moving. He dragged her into the jacuzzi, she floated face down with her hands still tied behind her back. He hit the button and watched as the floor slowly swallows the tub from view and locked into place.

**Autor note: Yes, I know this chapter is a wee bit dark. Thank you for reading. I will try to post more regularly over the next two months. End Note **


	9. Chapter 9 You're Not Immune

**Chapter 9**

**You're Not Immune**

Jackal showers and calls a part of the DCC to make sure this house was handled. They said the house was set for a controlled burn at 6:15 a.m. He asked who was setting it. They said Danny. He looked at the floor that hid the dead woman. "Good call, he's one of the best." He set the photo of her to be delivered tomorrow night. He then put the tablet under the couch she died on. Putting his wedding ring back on, Jackal listened to Elation's message and raced out to his car. He was going to be a father. He called her back but got no answer after the third time, he says to her voicemail "I'm coming home baby." His mind raced at almost the speed of his driving. His first child he'd sold to a black-market adoption ring to gain his entrance into the DCC. You got in the clan either by birth into a legacy law enforcement family, he was a first-generation cop, so that option was not afforded to him. The second way was, they gave you a mission. His, was selling his first born. He hadn't wanted to, but the payoff afforded him the money to take control of his life and change it for the better. He'd felt bad for telling his Elation's happy face, that he didn't believe it was his child. But how else was he to get her in position to help him get into a club she could know nothing about? He'd said it wasn't his kid to himself to cope with what he'd done so much that at times he believed the dark thought. He'd made her keep quiet and then took her to a DCC run clinic claiming that the doctor was his friend. As they'd waited in the room he'd watched for when the drug in her IV had started to take her under. She'd heard their baby cry as the doctor took it for the room. Elation tried to get up, that's when his anger at himself struck her as he'd told her that she hadn't heard their baby cry because the baby was still born. She deflated into tears and he flipped the switch to send sleeping gas through the oxygen mask she tried to push it off her face. The nurse that he'd slept with hours before taking Elation to the clinic, happily strapped her hands to the bedrail. Jack moved into Elation's line of sight and held the mask in place until her bleary-eyed focus softened in sleep. Now that he had power within the DCC he could have his wife and child and wouldn't have to lie to her trusting face anymore.

An hour before Jackal came home, Elation woke in a cold sweat clutching her throat. This baby would be different than the crying one in her nightmare. Looking at the clock checking for a missed call from her lover and finding 3 she realized hours passed and called him again. Her phone rang. A man that claimed he worked for Jack asked was he home yet. "Not yet, how may I help you?" the guy says she could scream for him. Elation hung up. She then heard, what sounded like herself screaming "no" at Jack. She hadn't done what the weird guy asked of her. To prove to herself that she wasn't making the noise, she put her hand to her mouth. She then heard her father calling her name. "Father?" Opening the door seeing no one she closed the door. She then heard her mother knocking on her door asking was she ok. "Stop it, you are in the hospital." Elation screamed as she went back to her door whipping it open finding not a person but a phone on the floor at her feet. Someone was in her house. She backed in the room and went for the gun in her underwear drawer. Jackal was right they should get out of here she was hearing things. The door opened and she fired at the intruder. Her eyes widen as recognition dawned as she sees Jack slide down the wall and hit the floor. "Oh no, oh god, Jackal I'm sorry baby." Looking for where she hit him, she'd hit him hi in the chest. He wasn't responding to tap and shout though. She called his desk Sargent at his station. "Hi Justin, this is Mrs. Elation Oxendine I accidently shot Jackal Oxendine; my husband please send him help." In minutes she heard her front door close. "There is someone else here. I don't know who. That's why I shot Jackal." Justin tells her not to shoot the med crew or the officers coming up to her bedroom. She put the gun down and the med crew worked fast to get Jackal on the gurney. She gave her story to the female officer that was leading this call. The woman spun her around and slammed her into the door, "Ouch you cow I'm pregnant, and if you hurt me Jack will get you." The woman cuffs her wrists tightly and read Elation her rights. "It was a mistake." The female tells her if she killed him, she wouldn't make it to prison. Elation started crying "I didn't try to kill him, I told you what happen." As she sat in the back of the police van her mind raced. She'd shot her husband thinking he was an intruder. When she gets to the station Justin makes sure she gets her call. At least he seemed to believe her. She called Joy and was more grateful than she had ever been to hear her little sister's voice. "Hello Joy, I need your help. I shot Jackal and he may die. Joy, I'm pregnant and I don't want to be here this lady officer already slammed in into my door. I know they are all friends, but I didn't shoot him on purpose. Oh god what if he? I have enough ghosts in my head." Joy told Elation firmly that she would see if she could get her help, but for right now Elation is not to answer any more questions or tell anyone else that story until she had a lawyer. Elation sobs "Okay." Joy tells her to not cry that she would figure something out. "Ok (sniffle) Joy, (sniffle shuttering breath) Thanks."

Joy gets off the phone and put her head down on the desk of their penthouse suite, everything was just so fucked up right now. She'd saw the text message with Robert and her picture as they got off the plane in what is a private hanger. Even with their security team. Danny was able to get pictures of them. He knew they were here 48 hours before he called to tell her about her mother. Her mother was stable, but still had not woke yet. Bobby had insisted they not stay overnight in the waiting room. Now if Elation's story was truth, her sister was being mistreated in jail for shooting Jackal her lying, cheating, abusive brother in law, while thinking him an intruder. Her dad was conscious and afraid for her. So much was happening, if Joy was honest with herself, that texted picture that traced back to nowhere, but had to come from Danny scared her. From that angle she could tell that it wasn't a person on the ramp. Danny, or whoever he sent to take that pic, was above them and far away. Danny's admission about pulling strings to get her into VICE hurt her pride. She'd been proud of herself for accepting the position and he misunderstood her role on VICE, with the learning from hookers' comment. She was bait, she didn't sleep with any of the perps. He'd got her in that position because she was so unsexy that he figured she could learn something. Tears ran from her eyes. This afternoon after Danny's call she'd called in to Grandville South PD's headquarters to find out what she needed from the hospital to return to duty, only to find out that she may not have a job to return to because a few of her own team had told lies about the Joshua case and claimed that is why she'd encrypted her work computer. Internal Affairs wanted a meeting with her. The department therapist wanted a meeting. The acting Chief that was holding Patterson's spot was now Lainie Borne Captain of the G-South metro division. The woman that threatened to make Joy's detective test disappear if she filed her full report against Danny even after more than likely saving Joy's life by walking into the locker room and catching Danny choking her. Though Joy was the Captain of the Cyber division acting Chief Borne could still make it difficult to impossible for Joy to return. Bobby walked in with food and asked what was wrong. Joy looked up at him and everything just spilled from her, her fears for her parents, her fear that she couldn't help her sister, her fear for Robert's safety with Danny out taking pictures of them from high elevations. She told him about her job.

Stunned into silence and hurting for the upset that was ripping his lover to pieces, Bobby put down the bags of take out, sat on the desk pulling Joy into his arms telling her, "Let it out, babe, I'm here." He rubbed her back and kissed her, trying his best to calm her down. He knew some of this was the hormonal effects of her being pregnant, but she'd also been battling a lot even before getting stabbed.

Joy says into his chest, "All I wanted was for you to meet my family, so they could meet you and stop thinking you are anything like Jackal. Everything is falling apart. Nothing is as it seems, I don't know who I can trust, Jackal is now at the same hospital, even though I just know he had something to do with dad getting hurt. Elation is in jail, Kindred keeps sniping at you, and my father has moved to insulting you to make you mad enough to take me home. I'm so sorry. One part of me wants to leave, but another part says I brought this shit here. I also may have no job to return to. With my old boss now the acting chief. I don't know if I can face her. She helped Danny keep me in my place. Hell, I caved because her and higher ups manipulating me, that and Danny threatening to show the video." Bobby let her go pulling his own hair and asked, what video, and why she never said anything, why she didn't at least tell him that Danny was the ex-partner she spoke of when she slipped and told him while thinking she was still a detective. "Bobby I'm sorry." He then blamed himself for not asking more about it after her accident when she did speak of a bad relationship. Standing inches away from him hugging herself she feared telling him anything else. He'd told her about his past dating, and she'd tried her best to not speak of Danny at all. Bobby looked so hurt and angry. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you sooner." Bobby spoke of Danny telling him that she'd forgave him and asked why the fucker would think she'd forgive him. She cast her eyes down away from Bobby's face and grabbed his sweater holding it to her chest like a stuffed animal. "I forgave him in front of a group of our peers. I'm going for a walk."

She got up grabbing his sweater that he'd just taken off hugging it and walked towards the door. Bobby got in her way, she backed up refusing to look up at him. Her tone brushed that professional neutrality she used when trying to distance herself from a topic. She was hurting and shutting him out. When she did look up at him the look in her gaze pushed his words from him in a rush. "No, I'm not letting you out of this penthouse. Be pissed at me but there isn't anything for you to be sorry for. Joy, this isn't back home where you can just run off to Angel and Sophie's place and still be safe. It's after midnight and I don't trust anyone here except for you. I won't have you putting yourself in danger, I couldn't take it if you got hurt again, I lost my shit when you got stabbed don't run from me." When she spoke, it hit him like a truck, that him letting her go was why she misread his anger's true target. "No, I got mad because that fucker sat right next to me and told me that the woman that walked in and caught him hurting you, and that later shamed you and threatened to stop your advancement is now the acting chief was who he was cheating with. That's why he got a slap on the wrist in the form of a demotion. There is more, Joy, Elation told Danny you were coming." Joy sat back down. "It is your decision but truthfully I don't want you to go back to Grandville South PD. With parts of your team trying to hurt you by lying on you, that could escalate to physical too fast. The DCC seems to leave their tag all over the fucking place. We both have dangerous jobs, but your own department isn't supposed to be a part of that threat. If that department hurt you, or worse took you and our child from me. Joy I'd "One shot, one kill" their asses until they either took me out, or until I hunted them all down. You don't even understand how much restraint it has taken for me to let dad and Joey handle Patterson."

He wasn't mad at her. A relief seeped into her. She was once again wounded by her sister's actions. Elation telling Danny where she was coming into town felt like a huge betrayal of trust. Then there was Robert's fear that he'd lose her to interdepartmental corruption. Joy remembers Angel speaking about Bobby's scary episode when Andrew called him to tell him she'd been stabbed. Joy had seen Robert near that level of breakdown before, and she didn't doubt that he'd do exactly what he said. Her fear was that if his mind flipped that switch without her to calm him, that he'd end up dead. She should have known that her old Lieutenant was the owner of the thong. It was in that moment that she didn't want to return to Grandville South P.D. She didn't want to get hurt again or killed by the people that were supposed to be her work family, she also didn't want Robert losing his life over her if she had a choice. "I don't know what I could even do for work if Internal Affairs flips my case. With her at the controls now that I know she was who he cheated with, it all fits. If she is still in contact with Danny, I don't want you to be surprised or hurt by them shredding my reputation." Taking a breath Joy then told Bobby about Danny, and about the party video how she'd been stupid. She told Bobby about Danny and her relationship from start to finish, the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. She didn't want anything Danny gave the new acting chief of G-South PD to use against her to come back and put the look that was on Bobby's face right now there ever again. By the time she stopped speaking with all that was bottled up inside of her all this time she couldn't stop crying.

She went to the bathroom. Bobby watched until she walked in and closed the door. He got up and started setting their plates. He had to do something constructive, because right this minute, he wanted to beat, not shoot, but beat Danny into the ground for all he did to Joy. Danny had played the role of Joy's savior and then when she fell for him, he made her fear him." If Bobby had been a police officer Joy's past would not have let her date him. When Joy used the detached tone that was her coping mechanism, he heard the pitches in her tone when she spoke of the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. What had Bobby almost breaking the damn plate he now held, was Joy speaking of the night she found the thong. Her telling Danny to leave and him choking her until she kicked him, him knocking her out and then her waking to Danny raping her at gunpoint, until she told him to kill her which Bobby suspected was what took Danny by surprise and made him let her go that night. Bobby thinks of when Joy and he first got together. The thought that Joy wasn't just playing hard to get, but was scared that Bobby would end up treating her like Danny did, explained why it took Joy three years to let him stay the night, and it took her almost four years for her to accept a key to his place, both depressed and angered him. The sadness was for what Joy went through the anger was at Danny for putting her through so much shit. He had to calm the fuck down.

After getting herself under some veneer of control, and washing her face, Joy walked back in the main room to their plates set. Bobby was on his laptop with her phone attached. He was running one of his programs. Numbers in different colors run across his screen looking to locate the device that sent the picture. Joy feeling cold, put his sweater on and sits at the table. She ate some of the rice and put her fork down. Not hungry anymore. She looks over to see what program he was running and says "I checked that one, and that signal ends at a house that was control burned yesterday shortly before that message hit my phone. That's why I think it's Danny." Bobby comes over and asked was she feeling any better since she got that out. Thinking about it, she did feel better and nodded.

After the hardest 17 months that she ever endured with Danny, she'd sworn off dating, until 2 years later after the case Robert and she closed. Robert had already playfully pointed out that her no dating coworkers' rule didn't apply to him because he was a federal officer, not a not a citizen on patrol. After one of their last debriefings, she mentioned going to the fair and getting a big ice-cream as she'd nibbled on a store-bought popsicle sitting on the tailgate of his truck at Grandville PD. Bobby asked first to take her to the state fair and get her that ice-cream. Her past made her very hesitant to allow any man to take the choice of escape from her if she needed it. Her face grew hot and she'd stammered about not being comfortable with being a passenger with a man she didn't know. Robert didn't laugh at her, he just said he understood, then asked her to meet him there. Meeting him there, gave her an escape if she needed one. She went, and not only did she not need her "going to the bathroom, and run" back-up plan, but she had a great time. He made her feel like a big kid, they laughed and talked about more than crime as they'd rode rides, and he won her a huge bear, and a second date which was their deal if he could hit the target when she couldn't. What made her want the second date, isn't the bear that is sitting at their house on the sofa right now. That night as he trailed her back to Grandville South and spoke to her on the phone Robert gave her an out by telling her she didn't have to really date him because he managed to hit a target, because that would be cheating, since he was a trained marksman. She thanked him for his truth and agreed to still go on their second date. He shared so much of himself with her, they went to the firing range and he fixed her shot. A smile played over her face as she remembered other little things that meant so much to her. Robert managed to not only crack the armor around her heart, but he moved in and pulled it around himself. Six, almost seven, amazing years later they were getting married and having a baby. Her appetite returned as he engaged her in meaningless small talk filled with his corny jokes that only he could make funny with a facial expression or a tone of voice.

After finishing their meal, she gets up and cleans their trash away. Climbing in bed under the covers, she asked Bobby to hold her, and he walked over with sunglasses on claiming her glow was taking up the entire bed making her laugh at his corny humor. He then climbed in and pulled her back against his chest and held her. Tonight, Bobby had again helped her shed more of her self-doubt that had caged her for so long. She soon turned over and he kissed her mouth and sent aroused warmth throughout her entire body as only he had ever been able to do. She kissed him trailing a line to his ear, knowing what it did to him, she rejoiced in his moans of pleasure as she lightly nipped his earlobe. He said in gruff a tone that if all she wanted was for him to hold her, kissing him like that was making him want way more than a cuddle. His comment in that tone made her feel sexy, and right now that was best feeling in the world. They hadn't had sex in months due to their injuries. The sounds he made as she pleasured her mate rung through her like a bell. He pulled her up and kissed her tasting himself on her lips and said he wanted her surrounding him when he let go. She climbs on top and before long he brought her to tears as he filled her, and she climaxed harder than she ever had. She lay on his chest listening to his thundering heartbeat. She went to move so she wouldn't hurt him, and he held her there telling her he was fine unless he was hurting her. After a time, he went to sleep. Joy moved off him and even in sleep he followed her and hugged her to his side in his classic protective way. Feeling sated and safer than she had in weeks she drifted off to sleep.

Danny got up early the next morning and went to Jackal's house and no one answered the door, Jackal's truck was in the driveway. He called and got voice mail "Jackal look if you're in there still pissed that I had Elliot play a prank on Elation. Dude she doesn't know what it is. Jackal answer the damn phone." Danny went to the hangout and grabbed a coffee. Last night as he'd watched his tracker to make sure his trouble making stepsister stayed her ass at home, he'd called Elliot, Jackal's newly admitted DCC partner who ranked lower than Danny. He had the newbie put the phone in the hallway. One-minute Danny was drinking coffee the next he was on his ass. Looking up at who had knocked him off the bar stool. He got to his feet and into Elliot's face. "You got a death wish?" Elliot tells him about Elation freaking out so bad she shot Jackal. "She what, who knew that dumb broodmare could shoot? He had on his vest right." Elliot shook his head. "Where is Jack now?" Elliot tells him that Jackal is in the hospital that he sent the target's parents to. "Oh great, just fucking great." Elliot says Jackal was alive but not really all that alert. "Where is his wife? She's covered through him. You know Jack has to have the biggest plan the most expensive contacts." A female officer name Charisma Wills tells him that she'd just put Jackal's wife in a cell in the old building. Danny pointed at her and crooked his finger. She was a member; he knew that she and Jack had an ongoing thing. When she stands in front of him, he leans down and softly says. "You don't call that shot. If he survives and finds out you had his wife killed, trust me Jackal isn't the forgiving type." Looking at his watch he was going to be late to the burn site they were torching a farmhouse today that would have some stolen paperwork, and computers along with a fucking van in the garage from Portland that had been in a bank robbery. Putting money on the bar. Danny says, "Elliot, you're my Jackal today, I still need a cop on scene." They head out Danny makes sure the van was covered in gasoline. He walks into the den and sees the computers that would melt like candy. He walks into the bedroom and saw no homeless people, no pets and walked out and hit a button and the house went up like turning on a stove. Fire broke windows. The alarm sounded then slowed down and stopped. He makes a joke about how the fire must have found the alarm and ate it. When he hit the alarm that would ring at the station now that he'd given the fire long enough to take out all the evidence. He waits and is pissed when his lazy ass sister isn't on the truck with her crew. He then then called Dina it goes to voice mail." Don't think I won't fire you if you don't show up in the next thirty minutes consider yourself canned. I'm not in the mood for your poor me shit today."

Joy wakes to Bobby speaking on the phone, as he got dressed. Joy get out of bed and Bobby mouths Sophie. Joy says, "Hi Sophie" Bobby hits speaker phone for a second for Sophie to reply, he then went back to his conversation. Joy heads into the bathroom, and showers and dried her hair. When done, she sees Bobby put the clothes, she'd picked out on the bath chair and tells her that the teams were out in the bedroom and the main area so she wouldn't come out of here and give them all a show. She grabs her bra and put it on saying "More like you don't feel like pitching bodyguards out the window." Joy says smirking at him in the mirror as she put on the matching low-rise underwear.

Bobby pulled her against him running his hand down her backside and kissed her "As long as you know." He says only half kidding. The clothes she'd picked out and set on their bed were a pleasant surprise the top hugged her growing breast and tapered down flowing over her small baby bump. She put on the dark pants that fit her nicely. For most of their relationship she'd dressed in jeans or cargo pants and large tees some of them his, or her department shirts. He liked when she dressed for her not for a part she was playing like when she was a Vice detective. Last night she'd shed light on why she dressed as she did. That fucker, Danny, made her feel she was sexually awkward and unattractive which was total bullshit. When they started dating, she was sexually conservative, not awkward. Their first time now sadly made a lot more since. As for her looks, by today's standards she wasn't a centerfold, but hell centerfolds weren't centerfolds either. To him she matched and exceed the list of physical attributes he loved in a woman. She was average weight and height, with long dark hair, had dimples, and an olive complexion that made her appear years younger, and just like his baby sister Sophie, the intelligence in Joy's gaze could light your blood on fire of freeze you in place.

His phone rung and he answered, "What's going on Mark?" Mark asked if he and Joy wanted to meet up for breakfast since he was in the area for a show later. Bobby asked Joy and she liked the idea. Mark said that Janet, Tony, and Rapture would be with him since they were staying at Ivey Suites Seattle. "We are in the penthouse did you want to meet in the eatery downstairs, or did you have a specific place in mind?" Mark said no the food at the eatery was good and he also got a discount card from Sophie. Bobby thought with as much as Sophie charged for a retainer a year, a discounted anything was a plus. "Well then ok, we'll be down in a few minutes."

They meet up and the guys talked about the show tonight, Rapture asked if they wanted to come. Bobby looked to Joy and said it was her call, she said with everything that is going on she just wanted to get up the hospital. Mark, Rapture and Bobby put away heaping amounts of food while Janet, Tony and Joy talk. Joy asked how Joshua was doing and Janet told her about Joshua going to the club and how it didn't go so well. "He's trying to do too much too soon." Bobby looked over at her words and said nothing. He'd asked her was she sure she wanted to travel this far so soon after getting out of the hospital and she'd said yes, for two reason really one, she wanted him to meet her family, and the second reason was if she was truthful with herself the stuff with Patterson scared her, she'd wanted out of Grandville South for enough time to just take a breath. With everything that was going on here, she now felt as if she'd jumped out of the frying pan and into the flame. Joy gets a call from Kindred and excuses herself and takes the call.

Over at the hospital Kindred dozes in his mother's room. She made it through the night and briefly woke about three hours ago. Kindred was calling the fact that she woke at all, a gift from modern medicine. She'd been hurt before tumbling down the hill if the handprint on her face that was older than the scrapes from her fall was any sign. Last time Kindred studied plant life tree shrubs and bushes, on a hill didn't have hands. The doctors were able to remove the part of her rib from her lung and inflate it. They'd stopped the internal bleeding and the swelling in her brain by calling in a team of specialists. The doctors had to go in with a microcomputer through her nose because cutting her open was too dangerous since her blood pressure kept falling. After asking where Joy was and Kindred telling her that Joy was safe with her mate, his mother went back to sleep. Kindred had made himself take a nap so he wouldn't look like the cat dragged him into work the next morning. He is suddenly brought awake by his mother crying Elation's name in her sleep. Kindred touched his mom's hand that wasn't in a splint and spoke to her until she opened her eyes. The marks around her neck, stood out like beacons against her pale complexion. His mother asked how she got here because the last thing she remembered was running from Jackal and his work friends, and then falling into the water unable to move, and she knew that Jackal didn't save her because he wanted to kill her. Kindred's vision swirled as he sat down. He had so many questions, before long he had most of his answers.

Life weakly and slowly spoke of what happened at the house. Kindred asked why Jackal would want to hurt or kill her or Joy. "I don't know. All I know for certain is that Joy was right Kindred. Jackal is very violent. I should have listened to my baby. Long ago. I don't know what either of us," Life looked out the window. "Joy or I could have done to anger Jackal so. Joy just got here, and I believed that I had not mistreated him. He wants to hurt my baby something about not being untouchable." Her medicine was making her words foggy again. "I'm sleepy Kindred, I think I'll…"

Armed with his mother's information overload, Kindred was glad this room was secure. He walked out into the hall and found a room he could use his phone. Jackal, the same guy that took him fishing at a friend's lake house after his divorce. Jackal, his sister's mate. A man that called him brother, had lied about being at work because he'd being chasing his 58-year-old mother in law down a hill. Kindred went into the single use men's room and punched the wall. He had never really wished anyone ill but right now armed with the fact that his brother in-law had put his hands on his mother Kindred hoped Jackal died from his gunshot wound. Kindred calls Joy. "Are you on your way here, because we need to talk and not over the phone." Joy says her and Robert were on their way. Put your brand of Ivey on the phone please." Joy refuses" fine, I'll speak to him in person."

"Danny was not having a good day his prank had put his friend in the hospital. Jackal had got under his skin with the rank comment. But if his friend died, he would have a chance to gain rank. It was time to clean up after his mistake. Pulling rank Danny looks over and orders the officer to go deal with the firefighter that was claiming that a person was in the back. Elliot gets out and ran towards the back of the house. Danny hit another button and the back of the house exploded hitting the officer turning him into a torch. "Report," his fire crew reports that they are all accounted for and working on the new flare up at the rear of the house. Danny watched Jackal's partner burn for a time then pushes the button and says "man down" into his mouthpiece. Part of the fire med crew tries to save the officer while the rest of the team put out the fire. He watched as they manage to put the fire that had engulfed the officer out. One of the firefighters sadly does the done signal. "Good work boys and girls." Danny says to himself and gets backs in his car. When the male firefighter runs to his car after the body is loaded Danny gets out. The guy says he just didn't get why the cop would run towards the fire. "You just witnessed your first suicide via fire. The guy was Jackal Oxendine's partner and got Jack shot last night. He insisted on coming to fill-in for Jack. I should have known he wasn't ready to come to work. Write it up. Looks like you got paperwork to do. Hey, have you seen Dina Talbot?" The guy shook his head. Danny had other shit to do. He headed towards Dina's place. She wouldn't answer the phone and wouldn't come to the door. He was done playing nice with her. He looks around and threw a brick through her front window and entered. She wasn't home. He knew where she wasn't, his dad had said she'd been stood up by whoever was supposed be her date. He checked and Jackal had been at the hangout but according to his chief his phone was ringing so much he left. Danny knew that Jackal had other women he visited but didn't know who they were. All Danny knew right now was that Jackal wasn't with Dina. Danny headed to the jail to get Elation's story and possibly get her out of there.

After hearing what happened from Jackal's wife. Danny gets a DCC lawyer to tap danced for the local judge, Elation was free. Danny drove her home. She thanked him. Danny smiled and said he was just helping a friend. Elation says she was so afraid in there. "Well, that is kind of the point can't have it feeling like a country club, now can we. So, before I drop you off at your house all alone, was there anywhere you wanted to go?" She said she wanted to go visit her parents and Jackal. "Jackal mentioned that you were closer to your dad than your mom." She looked guilty and spoke confirming it. Her dad was the first after two years of them being married to welcome Jackal into the family after they had run off and got married. She says she was going to dress nice for her visit with Jackal. "I'd have to come with you to visit him." She says she understood. "Good, now go in there, shower and change you smell like a trash can. I'll try to see if I can find you something to eat Jackal would skin me if I let you starve his kid." She looks alarmed and asked how he knew. "I can read." He points at the papers in her hand in her bag from jail. "Congratulations, I always wanted a child with Joy, I think we would have made beautiful kids, but Joy was so busy trying to get me fired that children never came up." That got her every time. "I even tried to talk to Joy but she tossed me off the phone and I'm the one that was willing to ignore the past and call her to tell her about her mother. I just want to love her properly; she even took back her thanks for me helping her in her career. She moved on to richer pockets. Like you said they flew here in a private jet, I can't swing that kind of money."

Elation felt so sorry for Joy's ex he was truly smitten with Joy for some reason. "Oh, my goodness, poor man. You still love her after all she's done to try to destroy you. Of course, you aren't as wealthy as her trust fund hubster to be, you had to rebuild your life from the stones. You can do better than her." He says he wished someone liked him. "I like you as a friend. You are a firefighter what's not to like? You're a hero." He tells her that she was just saying that because he knew she was taken. He says for her to go shower. She thanks him and goes upstairs.

Up in her room Elation calls Joy. Joy answers, saying she is on her way up the hospital because mom has awaken and Kindred is not telling her anything over the phone. "I told you he's paranoid, well anyway, I won't be needing your help after all. Your Danny Boy just got a lawyer to tell a judge a few things and I'm a free woman. I'm on my way up there to visit mother and daddy." Joy tells her no. "What do you mean no? They are my parents and were my parents before they were yours, we will see about that. You are the one that moved away and are too far away to be even a med contact." That shut her little sister up as it usually did. Joy tells her that she'd just speak to Kindred. "Oh, so Kindred suddenly is going to listen to you? Little sister, I didn't want to have to tell you, but Kindred can't stand you or your man." Joy asked what she or Robert ever did for them to dislike her or her mate. "I like you just fine. Kindred thinks you had something to do with Marie divorcing him because he heard what you told Marie about how she could do better." Joy's tone rose as she says she never spoke more than two words to Kindred's wife and those weren't them. "it didn't help that the rancher she married went to school with you, and Kin found out you introduced them. Joy accused her of doing that. "I never played with underclassmen. Kin was so upset when you showed up with a man that is a part of the family that Marie used to rip everything away from him including the kids." Her sister asked why she told Danny they were coming in town. "He deserved to know; he loves you. He even spoke about how cute your kids will look one day" Joy says no he doesn't love her he attacked her and is now stalking her thanks to her big sister telling him where to look. "Danny got you a better job, even when you lied on him trying to ruin him." Joy hung up on her.

Elation called Kindred. He told her that her husband attacked their mother. "Oh no. I'm on my way." She lies on Joy telling him that Joy was planning on getting them both pushed off the med contact sheet for their parents. Kindred went from a little agitated into full on anger. When he started to doubt her words, Elation used the best trigger she could pull on her brother when she says, "Joy has Ivey money now, you know she can do it. We have to stop her, Kin." Kindred says Joy thinks she's untouchable. "Huh? No, she just wants to outshine us and then leave mom and dad all hurt when she leaves again." He says what he said was what Jackal had told their heir mother. "Well right now, I can't even ask him what that was about he's on life support." Kindred reacted to her tone and told her it was them against the world again. "Thank you, brother, mine. Joy told me she was going to bar us both from seeing mother and daddy." Kindred says not without a fight she wasn't. He said dad didn't want Joy here because he's afraid somebody did that to him to send a message to Joy. "So just like we said Joy brought this dark cloud that now hangs low over our family with her. She first introduces the rancher then waited until another holiday smiling in your face and giving Marie the legal help, she needed to take you down." Kindred says he was such a dumb ass. "No brother you were blinded by your love for our baby sister. Thank you." Elation went in and showered, she dressed in one of Jackal's shirts and a pair of jeans.

Kindred paced outside the hospital, So Joy thought she would come here and just take over. Last night she'd went all "don't you touch me" on him and never really told him what the hell was going on. He thought they had come out better by the end of the night. When Elation mentioned what Joy had said about him not being good enough for Marie that just didn't sound like their baby sister and Kindred had said what their mom said Jackal said about Joy. Elation had no clue what he was talking about. At least he once again believed her not a part of Jackal's plans. Joy did have a sharp tongue and now she'd managed to get their parents moved. Kindred had been such a dumbass he fell for Joy's "I'm just as concerned about our parents as you brother mine" act. just throw her money and new connections around and then hop back on her broom taking his med contact rights, with her not gonna happen.

Downstairs Danny fixes Elation a sandwich palming the med he'd found when he searched Jackal's home office, he sprinkles it on chips and in her juice. She was nothing like Joy but with Jackal on life support. He would do his best to be a stand-in. He walked back in the living room and waited for her to come down. When she did, he offered the simple sandwich and chips. She gobbled them down and drank the juice like it was a fucking race. He asked her if she wanted a massage, she said sure then they had to get to the hospital. In the police shirt and jeans, she looked more like Joy. Danny stood behind her and started rubbing her back. He moves his hand lower; she didn't object. He tells her to get up, she says yes sir and stands. "So, Jackal had her trained. He told her to go in the kitchen sit on the table. She walked in and sat on the table. He tells her to close her eyes. She complies, he tells her to take the shirt off. She does and tips off the table, Danny catches her. "Looks like I saved you." She says thank you sir. "Call me Danny Boy." She says yes Danny Boy. Once Joy heard the song, she called him Danny Boy, before that he'd always went by Dan, or Danny, some people assumed his name was Daniel but nope just Dan. "Since I saved you, you owe me". She repeated that she owed him. "Lay back you look tired. She says it must be the new med and laid back on the table. Danny put his hands on her pants, she unzipped them and unbuttoned them. He walked in between her legs and pulled her pants down so that they held her feet together as she lay half on the table. "Just rest you are tired." He kissed her mouth. She kissed him back. He went back to her legs and pulled the pants off letting them hit the floor. When he slipped inside her she smiled with eyes closed. He drove himself into her and held her on the table until he finished. Wiping her up, he put her pants back on and carried her into the living room where he'd been giving her a massage. She put her hand on her midsection when he sat her on the couch. As she slept, he searched her and Jackal's bedroom. Walking back down the stairs armed with a few things that he stashes in a bag and slide under the couch; he puts his hands back on her shoulders as she starts fully waking. Her eyes fluttered open and he asked her did she enjoy her massage. She says yes, she must have dozed off. When she looked at the time, she said she had to get to the hospital. "Okay you don't look like you should be driving you want me to drive you?" She says that's fine. They get in and head for the hospital.

As Kindred stands at the entrance to the waiting room, he sees Joy and her mate pull up in yet a different limo. This one was a stretch Hummer he walks out and greets them. As their team walks with them into the hospital. Kindred walks out of the hall and says, "That's far enough. We need to talk," looking at the now larger team he adds "Alone." One of the guards says that is not how this works unless he wanted to be searched. Looking at Joy then back at Robert who gave him a cool eyed stare Kindred says. "Fine, search me, I've been here all night, so if you come up with vending machine energy bars be my guest but that's about the closest, you'll find to something I'm not supposed to have on me." The guard asked and why is that. Moving more in front of Joy. Kindred rolls his eyes. "So, all of sudden you're afraid of me Joy?" Joy says she is not afraid of him. He turns his gaze back to the guard "I like the rest of the fucking world, am on a diet. I must be at fighting weight for my wedding. Where you want to do this?" They tell him to proceed them into the empty room at his back. He walks in and they file in behind him. Yep, there was at least two more guys on this team. Joy shakes her head saying not to play word games. Kindred pins her with a stare as the guards search him, "I am not one of your fucking criminals, why the hell do you think I want to hurt you? Now you need extra muscle just to speak to me in private? Maybe I should just go, that would make you happy as a clam I bet. Both my parents are in the hospital, my mother has injuries that aren't from the fall. I thought you were here to help, but no you just want to come in and push me and Elation around and waltz back down south. You are the last person I want to hurt. If I were going to hurt someone, he'd be a lot taller and not of blood relation to me." One of the guards pushed him backwards into the wall and asked him was he threatening to bring harm to Mr. Ivey. "I know I don't look my best right now, but do I look like an idiot? Ivey is taller than Joy and not of blood relation to me, but I was talking about my current brother in law not my future one, but hey my sister may have already beat me to it. Besides, Ivey here, has already threaten to put me on the ground a few times, and I'm not into my sister's mate ordering French fries with a side of dead Kindred, whiles she applauds and whisks my parents off to Texas. My mate wouldn't be happy and I'm not ready to die." Joy looked hurt Robert looked pissed and told him that wasn't what this was and that he was mixing everything up. "I wanted to talk to you alone Joy because there is a lot mom and Elation said and I don't want to be overheard. You pay and trust these people I don't." Robert tells the team to please step outside. The 7 men and one woman leaves the room. "You mind on allowing me to talk to my sister alone now?" Robert said yes, he did mind and wasn't leaving Joy in here with him yelling at her and talking crazy about him offing him and then stealing their parents. "Offing me, wow that's a little west for your parts of the country isn't it? Joy puts her hand on Robert's shoulder telling him his Willy was showing. "Not from where I'm standing." Joy laughed at him. "I'm glad to be your jester for the evening." She said for him to grow up she didn't mean what he thought. This short day was getting to him. "You get here, and I ask you for a conversation and get treated like I'm the felonious fucker that got their house burned down, or pushed dad down the stairs, or hurt mom, I haven't done anything, to earn your fear. When they were at my home, they were safe. They chose to go to Jack and Elation's because my house reminds them of when I had two kids and a woman that proved with your help that she could do much better than me." Robert tells him not to yell at Joy and says that tone right there was why he got searched. Kindred flipped his hair out of his eyes, and says meeting Robert's "No I got searched because I like a fool thought that maybe my sister would speak up and tell her team they didn't have to search me because she wasn't afraid of me but what is done is done." Joy says she didn't help or hinder his marriage in anyway. She had tears in her eyes as she walked towards him and said he just had to believe her. She continued and described her interactions with Marie and with the twins. Joy never cried openly. He told her he wasn't out to hurt her and those tears that ran down her face as she looked up at him explaining the 5 interactions, she'd ever had with his ex-wife like she was reading a report, knocked his anger at Joy over like dumping a bucket of snow on your head. He grabbed Joy and hugged her to him. Bobby grabbed his arm and warned him to let go of her. Kindred let go of his sister and she stood as still as a doll not speaking as she stared wide-eyed at him. "Please stop crying. I don't know what is going on." Joy mentions what Elation said about him talking about her and how he couldn't stand her and her mate. "I never said I couldn't stand you. All I've had a problem with is the likes of him. Baby sister I love you fiercely, when dad went on the road for his book signings, I was the one that baby sat you. Elation was busy. I know our bond hasn't been the strongest I haven't been at my best for a while. When Elation told me your plans to take our parents back south, I got heated but I would have remembered saying something like that. Now that I think of it. The actions she accused you of don't sound like you. What you just said fits more accurately. You weren't miss popular in school and rancher boy was a jock with a reputation." Joy says she just found out today that Marie's new husband went to her school. Bobby interjects and says it sounded like Elation was playing them against each other, because he'd only been in Kindred's presences a few times now and the direct basic wording didn't sound like something he'd say. Something hit Kindred as he asked, "Robert um, when did you introduce Joy to your family? They both say in unison a date last year that would have made it impossible for him to have anything to do with helping Marie. He'd got caught up in Elation's tale and let it ride him like the jackass he was being right now to his baby sister and her mate that had nothing to do with his life transition from married to single. "I didn't agree to be searched to talk about this, but I'm glad this door opened, and I've been falsely under the impression that you helped Joy involve herself in my marriage. I owe you both an apology. I was so glad when you made Captain of the police geek squad. I know that's not what it's called. Please don't take offence. I thought I no longer had to worry that some drugged-up whore would jump out and stab you. I nearly lost you Joy, and it sent me into a fog of depression and anger that Robert would let you get hurt. Then Robert tells me what really happened after you left the table. Today I angrily get in your face yelling like I'm a few diamonds short of a ring, in front of a team of guards and am surprised that they act like they should." One of the guards poke his head in and asked were they done. Robert says no. "I won't keep you I'm late for a showing but here is what I had to tell you." Kindred tells them both about what all his mother shared with him. "He hit my mother if he wasn't on life support, I'd beat the living shit out of him. Mom says that she heard Elation scream out no, but Elation was supposedly asleep. I don't know what to believe and now with Elation muddying the waters or trying to muddy our bond as weak as it is. I don't understand what pitting us against each other would accomplish, I don't think she knows about your team. They stayed outside when you guys were at my home, if I had not have been looking to fuel my hypocritical pettiness meter with insult about your lavish lifestyle, I would have missed them staying on the street. Their cars are good cover because they blend well with what is in this area. I don't want to be the one to disallow her to visit mom and dad, but I don't like her games they are dangerous, especially right now. God, I hope they are games, and she is not a part of any of the events that has occurred. Mom has asked for her. Dad has as well. I'd feel like garbage, If I didn't allow her to see them and they got worse. I know how I felt when I thought her words about you disallowing me to visit them were true. Mom is not truly out of the woods yet, as it is. We can be in the room with her. When mom and dad get released from here, I will insist that they stay with me until I can manage to get the house repaired. I sold a sweet lake front house a few weeks ago, and if I can sell this next property to this group, I'll have the money and some." Joy tells him about Elation telling Danny she was in town. Then pulled up the picture and showed him. Kindred reached for the phone and she let it go. Seeing the flicker of fear in her gaze as she spoke made him say, "That was senseless of her, I think it could be a drone, I have taken pictures like this, just not of people when I have an extra-large property or one with lots of outer buildings I drone shot it. It's quick, it's easy and I get to play with the present you programed for me two years ago on my birthday. Pointing at the screen, "see there isn't any buildings for miles at that hanger, unless you count the airport and that picture was taken facing you with the airport at your back." Kindred gets a call from his mate, handing back Joy's phone he says to them both "I really must be going." As he exits the hospital, he says, "hey babe everything ok?" His mate tells him that his fabulous house near WellPoint just accidently got burned down. Getting in his Mercedes Kindred takes a breath then says "Ok Oliver, I must have went slow there for a time, because I thought you just told me that my 800,000-dollar house just accidently burst into flames. I'm on my way. I think I'm going to be sick. No, my mother is awake. No this isn't the time for you to meet them. That has nothing to do with it. Olly I just spent the better half of an hour speaking to Joy. Yes, the baby. Elation has been stirring things between us for what seems to amount to years. It erupted out of control and I ended up getting frisked and getting accused of…" Kindred retells the story from the time he walked into Joy's way until they had concluded that Elation was playing them both against each other.

Over on a site in Grandville, Logan and Bradley are tearing down a balcony from a home that wanted an extra room built on. Bradley drove the machinery and Logan stood on the ground signaling for Bradley to move forward or backwards. He gets a call from his switchboard. Giving the signal to stop, Logan answers his phone. "This is Conner" the person tells him that one of the homes that was named The Farm that he'd renovated was burned to the ground in Washington state this morning by the fire department because his property had been added to the control burn list. "I'll be there as soon as possible." After his call, Bradley and he removed the balcony from the house without damaging anything or anyone. After talking to Bradley, Logan says "There is no way my house should have been on the any burn list. I am taking a few days I need to let Mia know what's going on." Logan calls Mia at work and tells her what happened, she tells him she was going to be home the next two days since the garage was slow this week. "great babe, thanks so much for watching Glenny for me while I am away." Mia says she really didn't think of it like that anymore. She thinks of it as just being home with the kids. Logan smiled into the phone and says, "I love you." She blows him a kiss and tells him if she gets home before he did, she'd pack him a bag.

Ian watched as Nikki ran laps down on the treadmill. She was really moving. With Janet and Tony away with Uncle Mark, Nikki was like the only one that he could hang with. He'd helped her watch all the kids except for Joshua and Angel's baby who was with them most of the time. His cousins the twins were asleep now, and the two boys Nikki watched had just got picked up by Mia. After her run he offered to help her with her homework. Nikki says sure because she hated her geology class. Ian makes jokes and tells her that rocks rocked. She rolled her eyes but agreed that he could help her since she didn't need to get a C and get Chase after her about her studying. "Oh. I didn't know he was your father too. So, we are related?" The thought was kind of unpleasant with how he'd been checking her out. She jogs back up the stairs and says nope. She then says they wouldn't be related even if Chase was her dad already since Chase isn't related to his aunt Paula or uncle Mark. "Oh okay. So where is your old man? Won't he be pissed that Chase is trying to be your dad?" Nikki told him her dad was in hell if it really existed. He changed the subject back to her studies and she seemed to calm down. They sat in the living room laying on the floor with him explaining her science work to her. She beamed up at him when she got a question right.

Elation marched into the hospital. Danny had sadly told her that he'd meet her in Jackal's room since he was sure that Joy would have a cow about him being near her. Elation saw just how well Danny knew Joy. Her baby sister had said that the only condition as of now for her to see their parents was if Kindred or herself went in with her. She balked and called Kindred, he yelled at her and told her take it or fucking leave it because he was busy then hung up on her. They go visit her mother first. Her mom tells her that Jackal attacked her and chased her down the hill. "Mother you just have been through a very traumatic experience. There isn't a table near my bedroom door, that is another guest room." Joy told her she was missing the point. Elation smiled her fake smile and said. "That's enough out of you. Why don't you go get mother a gift from the gift shop?" Joy says then she would have to leave the room too. Their mother tells them to please stop bickering. "I'm am sorry mom, but Joy here thinks that I can't be trusted with you alone in a room that, is in under surveillance." Her mother says that she was just glad her girls weren't harmed. Then threw her a bone when she asked Joy out of the room. Elation left the fake smile in place as Joy walked out of the room.

As Danny walks towards Jackal's room he gets a message. He looked at the screen and saw his stepsister naked on a couch, the setting around her looked familiar, then it hit him what was on her chest. Someone had marked her for death with a wine label, and that was the house they'd just torched. Jackal had killed her. "You're not immune" was at that bottom of the screen. The DCC famous last words. Danny was so angry he temporally went numb. Dina was dead and he'd just torched her remains. "Oh god," bile rose in his throat, he hoped she was at least dead before he'd torched that house. He'd done the walk-through so fast he could have missed her. The entire crew missed her unless Jackal killed her and took her someplace else. He walked in Jackal's room. He leaned on the bed and spoke into the man's ear saying he'd get him back for killing his sister. Jackal flinched but didn't wake. He walked out and looked through his phone. He called a part of the DCC and asked for her help. She says they would have to meet in person for anything she did. He says to meet him at the hangout tonight. She says if she got off tonight.

Elation made quick work of getting Joy dispatched from the room by their dad. After her visit with him she told him she loved him, and she'd be back tomorrow, and he said he loved her always and would like that. Joy going back in the room to check on him was insulting. As they walked down the hall Elation stops and asks. "What are you even accusing me of? I hate to burst your "Elation is bad" bubble but hmm when they got here, I was asleep. When mom woke up, I was in jail. I get it why you are mad at Danny now, it's because he helped me when you wouldn't." Joy rolled her eyes and says "Yeah that's it" and stormed off. Elation went to turn her back around and one of the guards pushed her hand away from her sister telling her do not touch Captain Wildflower. "I didn't even bring Danny Boy with me and you are still mad. There is just no pleasing you."

Joy's head came up as she stopped walking, she asked Elation "Say that again?" Elation repeats herself. "Since when did you start calling him Danny Boy?" Elation asked was she jealous? "Not in the slightest, you guys deserve each other." Joy walks out into the waiting area and waited for Elation to exit. "Elation that was harsh, I can't say that to you, just please be careful, ok," Elation looks over at Robert and says she wondered if he was as tasty as he looked. Bobby scowled at her. A guard tells her not to approach Mr. Ivey. "Don't touch her and don't approach him, fine, I'm going to go see my husband, and none of you are allowed in his room." When she walked in Jackal's eyes were partly open. He was downgraded to an oxygen mask instead of a respirator. She went to his bed. He looks at her belly and says baby. "Yes, we are having a baby." He says Danny mad, stay away. Then drifted off to sleep when the light turned green on his medicine for pain.

Jackal's wife was asking Danny what was wrong. As he dropped her off at her home. "Duty calls, I need to go I'll come check on you later, try not to shoot me ok?" He liked that he made her flinch. He waits until she goes in the house and sped towards the hangout. The woman that he'd called sat in the parking lot in her car smoking a cigarette. She says she wasn't in this deal with the Texas target, "No Ghost Maker, I need an approach that you are used to giving." He hands her an ID and tells her that it would work no more than 5 swipes. She asked anything else. "No, that will about clear my account for a week, but it is part of a bigger plan."

That night after coming back to the hospital and seeing Joy and Robert off for the night. Kindred wondered what the man was called by his peers. Joy called him both. He checked in and talked with his father then headed to sit in the room with his mother. Today had been full of nasty little surprises, his office, the group that he was supposed to sell the property to and the man that was in charge of renovation were going to sue the fucking pants off this fucking county. He'd bitched to Oliver about the family drama this afternoon over lunch. He settled in and watched his mother until he dozed off to sleep.

Over at a Smackdown at a new place called Sheldon Sports Arena over in Spokane, Rapture gets the signal to rush the ring to assist Mark who was getting outnumbered by Daniel Brayan and Luke Gallows since Mark's partner Dave Batista had been taken out with a chair. His music hits, and he ran out, Seth Rollins was supposed to attack him from behind and he was to grab Seth pull him into a punch and continue to the ring. When Seth ran up behind him Rapture let Seth push him forward and spun around to grab Rollins who instead ducked the swing and kicked him hard in midsection not pulling the impact at all, Rapture bent over trying to catch his breath for real, and Seth grabbed him in a head lock. Since they both had long hair, this move set was usually when they could speak with the audience not able to hear them communicating. "I'm so supposed to deflect you and finish my charge to the ring." Rapture says holding Seth's arm mere inches away from his neck. To the crowd it would look like he was struggling to get free. Seth says changes and without warning drove his knee into Rapture's face, Rapture tasted blood before his knees buckled and he passed out. Seth made sure to plant The Rapture face down so the network wouldn't lose their shit about the blood. He'd followed a script all right just not the one they practiced. He hadn't meant to bust the guy open just stun him. That fucking half mask that The Rapture wore hurt his knee. Seth dealt with the pain by slowing his pace as he turns around and rushed the ring. Dean came through the audience and helped Bryan and Gallows attack Mark. Shamus, along with Finn Balor came to the ring and helped Mark clean house.

Mark walked back up the ramp and saw blood where he'd notice Rapture had laid for too long to be just selling up being knocked out. Rapture could sell almost anything but being out for more than a few minutes especially when the crowd was behind him wasn't his strong suit. Heading to the back, Janet and Tony come running to him telling him that Rapture was in the trainer's room. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Mark wasn't so sure when a genuine med trucked pull into the building. There were no backstage segments that would need one so now he was concerned as he hurried his pace. Mark walked in and HHH was standing there looking at the trainer work as Rapture now without his protective mask on lay hassling for breath with gauze up his nose. His eyes were bloodshot, and Mark didn't like the boy's coloring. He looked at HHH "You mind on telling me what happened?" Hunter walks out greets Janet, and asked Tony if he was enjoying the show. Tony said yeah then asked was The Rapture alright. Hunter looks back at Mark and said yeah. Mark followed Hunter down the hall and into his office. "He didn't look alright, what happened? He was supposed to." Seth Rollins came in the office without knocking looks at Mark and backed out of the office. Hunter calls Seth back in. Seth comes in and Hunter yelled at him for breaking script and fined him 25 hundred dollars. Seth said that damn face mask should be illegal his leg was still sore. Mark looks to Hunter then back at Seth. Hunter excuses himself. Mark asked Seth one question. "Why did you break script or did you?" Seth hesitated for a second too long then said he broke script because he wanted to advance. "You don't lie very well on the spot, and the next time you lie to me, you'll be picking your ass up off the ground."

Danny arrived at Jackal's house with lots of ill intent planned. He sits next to her on the couch. "I have some things to tell you and you are aren't going to like them." She says that Jack said that he was mad at him. "No, a misunderstanding. You know how we are; we get pissed at each other and in a day it's all over." She asked what he had to tell her. "That can wait, I'm hungry you want to go grab a bite to eat?" She says she dose like his car. "I need to use the bathroom before we head out." She says ok and he walks back towards the bathroom she heads upstairs saying she was going to as well. When she goes up the stairs, he grabs the bag he'd packed earlier. He wondered how much of the stuff he found had been used on her. They get on the road and she stays quiet. They head out of town toward Jackal's secret hiding place by the lake. He picks up the pizza and Elation asks for a large tea. The person at the window says sure. She drinks the drink about halfway and before long she is claiming to be hot. She holds her stomach and says something is not right and passed out. Danny put his hand on her belly, and she put her hand on his. Grabbing the keys, he takes his hand away and carries her in the house. He'd let her sleep for a time. Jack had taken his stepsister and Danny had to tell his parents that she must have got pissed at him and skipped town. His stepmother lost it and had to be hospitalized, but Dina was her only child.

Danny waited until Elation wakes sitting on the sofa that looked out over the lake. He gave her a slice of pizza and ate with her. She ate most of the pizza. They finished and she looks around and said his new home was beautiful. "I couldn't afford a place like this. He's lied to you so much" she stares around and then back at him and asks who and where were they. "I guess I'll start with the fact that I guess this is your secret home. Well Jackal's player lake house." She says that couldn't be, he only cheated on her once. "He lied and tonight, all will be revealed I care about you, yeah I dated Joy, but I think if I improve myself, she'll want me." Elation surprised him when she said Joy was never going to take him back, but she'd be there for him, and put her hand on his thigh. "I'm just trying to be a better person, but I know things that you need to know. I care about you too Elation. That's why we are here." He hands her the deed to the house after taking it from the safe using their wedding date as the code. She looked sick as he showed her home videos that Jackal had taken with many women here telling them all after everything that he didn't do relationships outside of his marriage. She was crying by the second person. 5 people later she gets up and said she wanted out of here. He says that isn't the worse of it. Her tone sounded small as she said she couldn't watch anymore of his cheating. "That's not what I have to show I must show you what Jackal did to you." She asked what did he do? "He sold your first born." She says no it died. Danny shakes his head no. She blinks back tears. Thumbing through DCC archives Danny brought up the video of her delivery. "I can't lie to you, When I found it, I thought he would have told you by now. Watch this" by the time Jackal handed off the crying baby, Danny watched as Elation cried uncontrollably as she watched as Jackal put the mask on her and scrubbed her clean. She looked so broken he kissed her and rubbed her back. She says no more please and asked him to take her home. He drove her back to her house. Danny speaks as he drives, "I think you should be armed with the truth. Joy is safe because Jackal can't hurt her right now. I helped you get out of jail because, we got into a fight at the bar yesterday before he came home to you because he admitted that Joy's boss in Texas was paying him to threaten Joy to make her quit. Jackal told me he was the one that burned down your parent's home." She shakily spoke of how she now believed that Jackal tried to kill her mother. "He did try, I'm just glad that man was there and was able to pull Life out and call for help. He tried to kill your dad by getting his partner to push him down the stairs. Lucky Moose is stronger than he looks. I was pissed at him for not calling for help and just taking Moose in his truck and dumping him off. That's when he told me about everything telling me to stay out of his way." She asked for his phone and said she had to call the police. "Jackal is the police, and they will see you as guilty of trying to kill his image after failing to kill him." Her tears cam faster as she says she feels trapped. She asked him why he took a picture of Joy. "I didn't is that what he told you?" She says no Joy told her to be careful of him and that he'd taken her picture. Danny explained how ghost texting worked. "I'll help you keep them safe." She walked in the house in a daze and sat on the sofa staring at the wall. He hands her the tea and gets up to leave.

Joy was right not to trust her; Jackal her lover had done so much. Her heart felt broken, she looked up at Danny Boy and the porch light gave him a halo. "Danny Boy, will you please stay the night with me? I've never been with anyone besides Jackal and finding out that he's been so evil I want to get back at him. It's wrong, but he never loved me I wonder what memories are even my own." Her tears came as her voice shook, at the partial memories that she dared not trust, "I just want to feel better, and I don't trust his friend's drugs anymore. I wondered how I could sleep here with all the noise of him punishing my parents, I think the drugs aren't for my depression but simply to put me to sleep so he could do whatever he wanted. He agreed to let them stay here after burning down our home. With a match, he burned all the physical things that was tied to my family's memories. He knew my parents kept their money in that house. It will be months for the government to get everything settled." Elation gets up. Danny says he was attracted to her. "No, you aren't, you just found a lot of unattractive shit about someone that looks like the person you are in love with. I like you Danny Boy, but this is about me breaking the stream of power Jackal holds." She waited on she didn't know what, she was so fucking programed. She thought of the empowerment she felt that she'd won a prize. She won nothing but lies, Jackal had convinced her that she needed no one, but him, and that her parents and her siblings just didn't like him or her anymore. She'd honestly believed so much of his bullshit and acted probably better than he'd hoped in distancing herself and being toxic to people that at one time loved her. Joy told her that she couldn't leave her with the words of she deserved Danny. She deserved nothing, she wanted to call her siblings and, but what would she say? Sorry brother mine, I trashed you to the woman that held your heart, until she believed my friendship was genuine and she broke you. Or sorry sister mine, I've been nothing sort of cruel to you." Danny broke her thought as he seemed to reappear closer than he'd been. He put both his hands on her face. Her mouth opened when he leaned in and kissed her. Her mind fought with her heart she felt bad that she was cheating. A horrible thought pierced her. "Stop." Danny felt her pull away and let her go. "What if the reason that Jackal cheated was merely because I'm so bad at having sex that he needed people he could get that part from? He kept telling those women even the one that pushed me into the wall, that he didn't get into relationships." Danny told her one way to find out and then suggested she take something to calm her down and that he was a trained medic and wouldn't let anything happen to her, or the baby. "I don't want to forget that I'm doing this." He says that's not how it worked. He'd give her a small dose of cannabis. "I don't smoke." He explained that he had it in liquid form for his pain from an old injury. He asked her how much she weighted and pulled his phone and put in the information and other little details then it gave him a dosage. She leaned in moving her hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. It didn't look like a lot, and at the very least, he was telling her what he was doing, not just shipping her off to a friend of Jackal's. Danny wouldn't take her memory. "Please tell me that you don't get that from Jackal's friends." He smirked and said he and Jackal didn't share doctors, Jackal made way more than he did on a fireman's salary. "Yes, because he sold my child, and tried to kill my parents twice for more money to hurt my sister." Danny asked her did she have anything with citrus in it since he usually mixed his with beer, but she was pregnant she didn't need alcohol. He smiled at her and looked years younger than he had. She walks into the kitchen. When he pulled the little pill bottle out, he popped one. He wouldn't hurt himself just to hurt her. "Did you want water with that?" He says no he's used to it. She cringed and let the shade down so no one could see what she was doing. He laughed at her. "What would the neighbors think? They will see me doing drugs." She stage-whispered as she moved over shutting the other blinds.

Danny laughed, here was a woman that had probably ingested so much shit in the past ten or so years that she could open her own drugstore, and she was worried about someone seeing her drink a drink with medical weed in it. He shook his head, he been worried that his outburst of humor would break the spell because him laughing at Joy sure did, and he'd have to drug her to get her pliable enough to get some. Elation looked like an older rounder version of Joy, but they were as different as night and day. She pulled lemonade from the fridge and asked him was this ok. "Yeah it's fine." He takes it and prepares it. She watched and took it from him and drank it. She says she wanted to call her siblings and apologize. "Joy may not be happy that you are calling, at 2 in the morning. I saw the fireworks between you two in the hallway." She says she'd write her and Kindred letters then. She moved back into the living room. As she sat, she took off her shirt. Looking at him for confirmation. He put his hands on her bra covered breast. She closed her eyes and turned her head. "Don't think of it as cheating he wronged you and you are trapped in his web of lies until he dies. Uncage apart of yourself. He never respected your union." They fucked and she was way more skilled than he would have imagined considering Jackal was always dogging her. The man had captured and trained a sexual blockbuster and slept around; Jackal was an idiot. They finished she thanked him complimenting him. She was surprised that she wasn't fuzzy and could remember everything just relaxed. "Your worry that you were bad uh at it, no you get an a plus. Jackal is a dumbass." She gets up and grabs her phone. She wrote out a long apology message to Joy and one for Kindred. She didn't mention Danny at all or that he'd told her about the plan. She'd just warned Joy that she was in fact in danger, and that she'd found out that Jackal had been behind everything to make her quit so she wouldn't return to work and expose her boss with information that she had on him even though his name was not listed on her file as of yet. She even apologized for making a pass at Robert saying she did it just to get a rise out of Joy. To Kindred she apologized for running his marriage into the ground with her toxic behavior and spoke of how she'd turned Jackal's words into her own. "Why don't you set it to send in a few hours. That way you won't scare them into thinking something is wrong with Life or Moose." She thanks him. "I'm not always as dumb as I look." She set the message for 9 a.m. and showed him. He hit send for her. She got up went to Jackal's den. She looked at him and asked would he screw her in here. Danny smirked at her word choice and said, "You bet princess."

Mark and the girls went to check on Rapture at the hospital and Rapture told him that his mask had done its job and prevented a shatter of his nasal cavity which could kill him. The blood Mark had seen came from the impact of Seth bruising capillaries around Rapture's nose. The hospital made sure to X-ray to make sure the screws and plates that held his nasal cavity together was still intact, they checked him out had him keep his nose packed and told him if the discomfort from the swelling didn't go away in 24 hours or if his nose started bleeding, to return home to his regular doctor, they gave him the concussion instructions and Mark told the doctor that he'd watch out for Rapture, so he didn't have to stay for observation.

Rapture sat on the sofa talking to Cassandra who'd just seen the show and had been calling him since the match. After confirming that he was ok they talk about lighter topics then get off the phone. To Mark he says, "Man, thanks for getting me out of there tonight. I couldn't call Cassey from another hospital. It was bad enough, that she knew something was up because one of the announcers said something about me going to the trainer but didn't do any replays as WWE are famous for, since in a few of the angles you can tell my eyes were open but sweet lady consciousness took a vacation. You were in the ring how did you know I was in trainer's row you wouldn't have heard the announcers?" Mark spoke about Rap's inability to stay put for very long in a knockout sell without being hurt, and the blood on the ramp. "I guess that would give it away."

Up in the penthouse Joy and Robert sit talking about today's events. "Thank you, Bobby, for shining light on the Kindred, Elation thing. I mean I'm not exactly ready to go back to his house or anything for another dinner, but at least I trust him as much as I am allowing myself to trust anyone. I feared that because of Kindred's lack of response how I would have responded was a signal that he was involved. I am just glad he isn't. After today I believe him." Robert says he does too. They talk about Elation's behavior. "I don't know what else to do. I gave her rules and she threw them out the window in front of my parents. I didn't want to upset them. When father asked me out of the room, I was so nervous I was sick until Elation came out. I went back in to check on dad and I pissed her off, but I could not leave that hallway without making sure dad was ok. It wasn't until Elation asked me what I thought she would do to dad with the cameras rolling that I had no answer. By that time, she'd brought up Danny again and then and accused me of not helping her when he would. Last night…"

Bobby pulled her closer and hugged her, last night shit had gone to hell and when she'd stood to run from this place into the night, he wasn't going to let her out of this room alone. He was either going to stop her or she would have had him and the 8-person team walking or running alongside her. "Last night, with everything that was running through your head you were not emotionally in any shape to help anyone not even yourself. You tried to secure your armor against me for fearing my reaction. You attempted to run from me. Which is something you hadn't done in years. I am glad Elation got out for shooting the bastard. Wish she had of made it count more. At the dinner I tried to like Jackal, but I know why he and I would never get along. He reminds me of Warren. He is clearly abusive, and Elation is spellbound by him. Her words and actions towards you and Kindred and even your parents speak of something I have only seeing when someone that is controlled by someone else. I don't know if he had something on her, or something in her."

Joy knew who Warren was and it spoke volumes about where Robert was if his father was in a side by side with her brother in law. Joy pulled up a digital crime board app and started filling it in. "You said think like a cop. I just wish I knew what Jackal could have on her. She goes all irregular with her speech if she speaks for too long so maybe drugs?" Joy types as she speaks. "Dad said that a man with a mask pushed him down the stairs. Elation isn't built like a man. Mother said that Jack and two other men chased her. Once again, her story doesn't fit the male's description either. Elation is pregnant. But sadly, I still can't remove her because there is something I'm missing."

At 4 am, Ghost Maker walked into the breakroom and when Moose Wildflower's regular nurse walked in, she chatted with her. The woman talked about how this was her first secure room case. After buying her a coffee from the vending machine Ghost Maker sits and has a cup with the woman. She'd used the noise of the machine and her body to block the camera from seeing her add more than sugar into the woman's coffee. She says the woman looked tired. The woman says she was fine just had to pee. Ghost Maker walked into the bathroom and did her markup. Hearing the woman hit the side of the stall. Ghost Maker walks to the stalls outside of camera range, and with her magnet released the slide opening the door. The woman was out cold. Ghost Maker pulled her legs up and rested them on the wall. Pulled the tag from the woman's lapel and put on a dark wig to match the woman's hair color. When she walked out, she moved the out of order sign on the stall that housed the drugged nurse.

Hours earlier after deciding to release Moose Wildflower tomorrow, Dr. Havana Howard-Sheldon enters her home and checks in on her twins. They asked her to read them a story from the big wooden brown book. Feeling guilty as she sometimes did when she came in this late, she picked one of Mr. Wildflower's books and read the one that got him on the bestsellers list, the children repeated the last words sleepily. She kissed them on the forehand and checked on her youngest. Moving into the kitchen to grab whatever smelled so good Pierce Sheldon her husband walked in and hugged her from behind massaging her shoulders telling her to have a seat that he would plate her food. She learned when he was like this to just run with it. He set her plate of strip steak and rice and a glass of her favorite wine. "Thank you," he pulled up a seat he and asked about her day saying he is needing some of her brand of normal today because his firm was going to take the county to court as of now and he was leading the team. She speaks of the Wildflower's ordeal since he'd knew of them from buying Moose's wooden art and grandfather clocks. They finish their meal and head to bed.

Ghost Maker walked to Moose's door and enters, this was the first access of the nurse's card. Click, hiss, thump, the patient watched her as she walked into the secure room. and asked how she was doing. "I'm doing ok. The question of the day is how you are Mr. Moose?" The patient grunted as they moved their hand so that she could let the bed rail down. "The doctor wants you to sit up today. We are going to get you fed and cleaned up. You are to be released." After she safely moved Moose to the chair, she set his tray of food in front of him. She leaves to get supplies for his IV tubing. He asked could she take it out and leave it out. "No, I'm sorry if you were within an hour of release sure but it's still early. Nothing we gave you by mouth, would be as effective to combat the pain." He nods and thanks her. Click, hiss, thump, 20 minutes later she returns and clears his plate. She then pulls the curtain, he looked up at her. "This is just for your privacy while I change your tubing and wash you up." He smiles. The curtain blocked him from sight of the camera and the door. Privacy protocol worked in her favor sometimes. As she peels the tape from his arm and withdraws the needle, she turns and pushes a timer on and then pushed pause the machines went silent. "It will come back on automatically, After I'm done." He turned on the news with his other hand. She put a portable scanner plugged into her wireless ear buds on his finger. He looked at his vitals on her phone. "I hope my re-stick wasn't painful." He says no she had a very delicate touch. "Well thank you. You're and old pro at this by now I'm just going to flush your line ok?" He nods and his gaze returns to the screen. She drew the med into the needle and pushed it slowly into his vein. She then attached the tubing to his regular meds. She glanced at the timer. He grabs his chest as he struggles to breathe, stepping closer to him she says, "Elation Oxendine loves you and wants you all to herself. Any last words?" She puts her phone to his mouth as he painfully pants Why Elation? keeping the video going she says, "You are not immune." The look of pained horror on his face as the non-traceable stimulant pumped through him. Made her shutter, she steps back and watched him though her camera monitor and listened as his heart worked and skipped in rhythm. As he went into his death throws and went still. In her ears she heard the flat note and watched his chance of survival slip away. Looking at the timer she removed her monitor and walked out. Renters the bathroom put the women's legs on the floor with her leaned back against the wall replaces the tag. Someone walks in and Ghost Maker stood on the toilet in between the drugged nurse's parted legs until the other woman left. Stepping down she put the drugged nurse's tag back on her lapel, puts Moose's wedding ring on her necklace, takes off her wig and checks her watch. She heads out makes it to her car and looked up at the window. She had to give the woman a false motive.

She edited the video she'd taken to fit Elation Oxendine's voice as directed and hit send. For once in her life within this Dirty Cop Clan she was not sent to kill a criminal or even a true adversary to the DCC, she was sent to kill a little old man. Danny asked for her to deal with the mother as well. She replied no do it yourself you paid for one and I'm not a fucking Walmart, no BOGO sales here. He says he could wire her the money. In her life she'd made a lot of ghosts, but that old man's face would stick around for a time. After she'd hit the plunger into his veins saving him would comprise her freedom. Checking her watch by this time the woman that had been his sole nurse would wake in a manufactured hell. Her nursing career was over, she was just another innocent taken down. Danny had left her no choice. Those rooms were not easy to access even with a card, and she had to make it look like Moose Wildflower had went on into the great night. Today she'd killed an innocent, and it did not feel good because if you took all the innocence out of the world you were left with only predators. She drives to Jackal's lake home and knew she couldn't beat the DCC and she no longer wanted to be part of an organization that could one day hire her to kill a child. She'd never be accused of having a heart but watching and listening to that man die broke what little she did have. She wrote a long letter with the auditory illusion of that man that could have easily been her own father gasping for breath until he had no more air. She would fly today, only her flight would carry her to hell. She knew this day would come but she promised herself that she would never let those men that she worked with be the one to put a bullet in her brain. She'd grew up with Jackal and when he'd needed sex she'd agreed. Danny was prey in a predator's costume. After walking onto the back deck, she takes one of the needles she'd copped from the room and stuck herself. Images of her latest ghost swam by her mind's eye. Her death was just as violent as Moose's and was over just as fast.

**Author's note: I want to thank my betas you guys are super. What a ride into the dark curtain. A few times I weighed the major number of cons in killing him off. But as in life, sometimes the good is extinguished. So, here is a question with all the deception being dealt, will Joy and her brother believe that Elation killed their father? Will their mother believe that her oldest took her lover? Answers, questions, concerns, are welcomed: End Note **


	10. Chapter 10 After Shock

Chapter 10 After Shock

Moose's 22-year-old nurse Gail May is brought awake by her phone beeping at her. She didn't remember setting an alarm. Hitting the mute, the feeling of the cold metal wall against her face, made her open her eyes with a start. This was her first private care secure room case. He was a sweet dude that didn't give the staff a hard time. Everyone loved him. As she cleans herself up in the mirror, she hopes she can slip out of here and get to Mr. Moose's room to get his meal off the tray and into him before it gets cold. He was a much better option than her rounds on the regular geriatric floor getting spit on and cursed out. He was like everyone's grandpa and she'd miss him when the doctor released him later today. Even when he was afraid, he never made a move to swing at them. She'd worked a double and hadn't got much sleep. She walked to the tray and found it empty. Looking at her phone to see what the message was, sent dread and denial through her system. He couldn't be dead maybe he'd pulled one of the sensors out of one of the pads. That happened when he first got here. He talks with his hands. Grabbing gloves to possibly re-stick him. She swipes her card and says, "Mr. Moose" and all the color drained from her face. The curtain was pulled, there were three set of sensors on a secure room patient. They were chest, finger, and head, and all his were singing the same lonely tune. She pulled the curtain she hadn't put him the chair, had she? She hit her panic button and is soon joined by her coworkers that had responded to her code blue call. The team worked to bring him back. He'd died alone afraid and in pain from the look that was on his face. After not being able to bring him back, one of the head nurses that had balked at her taking this position from a more senior nurse had let her have it. Gail would take 1000 more of those slicing remarks if he would have been brought back. The snippy nurse called time of death. Gail grabbed the wall to keep herself standing.

Dr. Havana Howard-Sheldon is brought out of a sound sleep by her work phone. "Shelden." The nurse that was Moose's secure room nurse, cried into the phone and told her that she was so sorry, but Mr. Wildflower was dead. He shouldn't be dead. "What happened, report nurse." His Art No Tell was clear of heart problems that man was healthier than she was. "God damn it, I said report." Pierce opened his eyes at her sharp tone and sat up. "Don't you even think about leaving the hospital until I have dismissed you." Havana closed the call and burst into tears, Pierce grabbed her and held her saying comforting things into her hair. "He's dead. I was going to release him. He showed no sign of heart trouble. Though his nurse just reported that he had a complete heart block before they could stop it." Pierce asked was that rare for someone his age. "Forget about his age for a minute, will you? This man ran in a charity event. He did a speed walk a few weeks ago which means he was training and seeing me regularly. If either of them died I would have bet on Life. She is going to be crushed. I must go." Pierce says for her to take a transit she was in no shape to drive, and that he and children would pick her up when she was ready to come home. When she got to her feet the tremor, she tried to hide was not going to convince him to drop the subject. When she went to walk out of the door, a driven expensive car with Ivey Transit slapped on the bumper was outside. Pierce kissed her and then pointed to the car. As he stood in the doorway that look on his handsome face was as loud as a statement. Saying get your ass in the car. The tremors were happening more often when she was upset. She knew what was in her family. She was a doctor; she didn't have time to have a disability. She walked very slowly to the car hoping Pierce didn't see her almost fall. As she got in, she risked a look out the window. His look of concern told her that she had failed in keeping her misstep off his radar. She held her hands tightly together to stop the tremors. She'd failed Mr. Moose Wildflower, she wondered how she missed a heart problem that had been right under her nose. She x-rayed, scanned, and tested him thoroughly.

Over at Jackal and Elation's home, Danny had screwed Elation in every room. He was warring with himself whether to kill her or not. She was broken and trusted him more than he'd expected. He could continue screwing her until Jackal got out of the hospital or even take matters into his own hands and help Jackal into the next life. When the message complete with voice editing and a video of Elation's old man saying her name in response to what would sound like Elation calling him hers and asking him if he had any last words and then saying he was not immune as he died would probably send her down, but he could save her maybe he could do what he'd did to Joy only his savior act would be enough to save Elation or he was kidding himself. One way to find out. She slept laying on him. He shook her awake. "Hey there, sleeping beauty." She looks up at him and asked did he have to go already. "I must get to the station, or my ass will be living on your couch. There is something you need to see. I just got it." He opens his phone and hands her the video of her father. She sat up and says daddy in the smallest voice he ever heard come from someone that was over the age of 5. Her eyes filled with tears, as she says that Jackal must have ordered her father killed in this way to cut her away from her family for good and send her down for murder. Her mention of the word murder brought his plan back into focus in his mind. She was still the wife of the man that had killed his stepsister that had so much life ahead of her before Jackal snuffed her. "I'm sure Joy nor Kindred or you mother would believe you were there."

Elation says, "You don't know them. Joy already suspected that I was going to do something to mother and daddy and that sounds like me, but I never spoke those words. I was here with you?" He says he went to sleep at around 2 that message came in just 30 minutes ago. She looks at the clock. Shaking her head. Danny promised that she would remember. She was in her jeans and Jackal's shirt. "I would remember you promised. I sent them messages, you saw them, they start with Sorry Sister mine, and Sorry Brother mine, and I told them everything about the other pregnancy and how Joy was right and everything. Now they will think that I managed to kill my own father. Jackal won. He'd send me to prison knowing I'm having his child." Danny gets up and says he'll be back later he had to get going. She watched him go. He'd forgot his phone in his rush to leave, she still held it. As she sat in the middle of her and Jackal's bed, she closed the frozen picture of her father. Remembering the stricken look on Joy's face when she took back her comment on how Elation and Danny deserved each other would not leave her alone. She touched his video log that he's named "My Joy" and her sister was on Danny's screen. The first video Joy was super young and wearing her academy t-shirt. She looked at the corner of the screen, A young Danny handed Joy a cola, Elation saw when the supposed soda hit her sister. Joy's eyes were always sharp even when she was younger. Now 10 minutes into the video, Joy looked wasted, morbid curiosity and the escape from the here and now trapped Elation's gaze to the screen. From the way her little sister was wearing her hair she'd just turned 21. Danny had drugged her sister. Danny danced with Joy and then he smiled at whoever was filming him. He dared her to take off her top. Joy undressed in the middle of the room. Elation put her finger on the bar at the bottom of the screen and moved it forward. She stopped when Danny pushed Joy to the floor. The guys chanted some slogan she heard Jackal say. Joy lay half-conscious on the floor naked. When the first guy assaults her sister, Elation put her finger on the bottom of the screen and tried her best to move fast past Danny and other young men that Joy worked with or would work with sexually assault her sister. It was in the past and she couldn't jump into the phone and stop it. Those were the same fresh-faced men that stood around Joy in her academy graduation photo that burned up in the house fire. Her finger must have blocked when they took her upstairs. When Joy screams "Danny" and flies out the window though Elation knew her sister obviously survived, her heart still leaped into her throat. The video stopped and then cut to the next video once again Joy takes flight but this time her scream is not present just her flying into the pool. Danny jumping in and saving her made Elation mad that she believed that Danny was good for her little sister. Tears streamed down her face. Danny drugged and helped in assaulting Joy and nearly got her killed. Thinking back, Danny tried to cast doubt on whether she left this house. Jackal had her father killed. She didn't kill anyone. She swiped and the videos got worse. Filled with fury, she found Robert's number and sent him the videos and told him if he was worth his badge and really loved her baby sister, he'd use some of his fucking government magic to get Danny and those cops back for what they'd done to her sister. She sends the video of her father's death to Joy and Kindred saying that she swore on everything that she'd ever loved she didn't do it. She set all three messages to send minutes after 9:30am. She gets up and walks downstairs. Jackal was the last one she wrote a letter to. As she sat at the kitchen table and drank his cherished champagne. She cried and typed and cried some more. She told him how she'd slept with his friend even though he probably didn't care about her anyway. She typed that she found out how he drugged her and hurt her parents and why. She mentioned how he wouldn't get a chance to have her captured because by the time he'd get this she would be long gone. She was taking his blood money that he'd gained by selling their first born and sending it where it belonged and using the rest to get the hell out of this town since he'd been successful in destroying her bond with her family. She ended the email with "you thought you would just take this child away and get more money to continue your bedding named whores, I hope all the federal agencies with all the fancy letters, kill you, like you had my father, Moose Wildflower killed.

Elation with Danny's help had found a lot of money in the safe last night that was Jackal's gun safe. Elation had not listened to Joy, and Joy had loved her but that was over. She deserved no one's love. Taking another drink, she put half the money wrapped in lots of paper in a one of Jackal's combination briefcases that he collected. She set the combination to Joy's birthday and wrote happy birthdate sister mine on the smooth leather. She put the other half in Kindred's old luggage and locked it with the lock that he wore on his keyring. Knowing she wouldn't get far she called the man that delivered her dad's art to the studios. He only lived a half black away from her two-story big beautiful cage. He arrived and she gave him $70.00 to deliver the gift to Ivey Suites and the luggage to her brother's home. He thanked her and was gone. She hadn't the heart to tell him that he would never chat over a game of chest with her father anymore while they planned his route. It was 6:12 in the morning, where were the abusive cops that slept with her husband or whoever Jackal would send?

Danny was at the station and went to make a call and froze. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as realization dawned. Elation had never returned his phone. He was trapped at work. That put him in a very foul mood. He went to his office and started his computer. Someone had sent a photo of him and Jackal's wife out at the hospital. So, Jackal was having him followed, just great. He'd played with worse than a half dead cop before. Ghost Maker was listed as dead and his picture and an article of how his payments and instruction to her were hitting channels. DCC higher ups could shield him, either Jackal found out he hired her, or the bitch had set him up and then killed herself. He, went to his DCC page and instead of his own smiling face the words Dan O'Sullivan marked. He could hardly breathe someone had put his name on the kill list. He gets up, a dressing down was the least of his problems.

Gail May walked into the office of Dr. Havana Howard-Sheldon and sat in front of the head of this location. The head nurse was already here. Dr. Sheldon started by asking her for her report again. She tried to cover up the fact that she had more than likely slept through his death. She'd been so tired. She spoke of walking into the room and finding him out of bed. Havana had been nice to her like a second mom. Gail misspoke and addresses her grey eyed boss by her first name. Those eyes that were red rimmed now sharpened on her face and her story is ripped to shreds as Havana turned her screen around and watched her enter and leave the hall playing on her phone. Go to the bathroom and come back almost two hours later. Gail objects that she entered the room. The room went quiet as a tomb. She'd done it, her career as a RN was over. Dr. Havana shook and held her hands together, but the trembling didn't stop. Gail grew concerned for her boss as Havana leaned to the side and caught herself bracing her hands on either side of her desk to stay upright. Was Gail the only one that noticed? The head nurse just stood there. Gail remembered her place in this food chain and addressed Dr. Sheldon. The women seemed to stare right through her for a time. Then the grey eyes lowered from her face. The next words from her mouth speared Gail where she sat.

Havana had just experienced the harshest tremor that she'd had to date, her entire body hurt. She gripped the desk to stop the room from spinning. This wasn't her mother's MS; she had a location to run. It was stress nothing more. Meeting the young nurse's face her gazed lowered on the ring that sat at her breast. When the spell passed Gail May asked was, she ok. Havana's tone went icy as she asked the head nurse to call security. The head nurse was here to witness the meeting because of reports coming from a doctor trying to sue Luke Sheldon her nephew, for firing the doctor unjustly. Dr. Britany Ashley had a list of disgusting accusations in her case against the head of this network. Havana watched as Gail looked down not meeting her eyes. "I can't let you keep that ring." Gail eyes snapped to her necklace and she looked as if she'd just seen Wildflower's wedding band around her necklace for the first time. She would have been more convincing if she hadn't fingered the ring and started crying. Gail looked back up with words that didn't come fast enough. Havana holds out her hand and hoped she could keep it steady as she says through clenched teeth. "I don't like liars. You will not rob the dead in my hospital that ring belongs to his wife." Gail takes the entire chain off and drops it in her hand. With instruction for Gail not to leave town she has security escort her off the property and to be met by the police.

After dismissing the head nurse Havana takes the faded gold band off the necklace and walked out of the office. The call for Kindred Wildflower to please call the medical switchboard had already been sent out. Havana would not break the contact line by contacting Joy Wildflower because the woman was not on the list and right now both Wildflowers that could make decisions on Moose's behalf were in a secure room. Havana picked up her pace until she was running with the ring clutched in a death grip in her fist. As she reached the private hall, Havana saw Life's secure room nurse taking the food tray and putting it back on the on the shelf to be taken back downstairs. "Nurse report," the nurse looked up her and said that Life was doing better she'd even eaten today. The nurse handed Havana her phone with the readings from the private room's charts. Havana's vision tunneled on the heart rate and blood pressure. Taking a breath, she sees Kindred Wildflower walk out stretch and stops putting his arms down when he sees her watching him.

Kindred had told his mother that the food was for her and to please stop trying to feed him. She'd told him he'd lost too much weight. Loving to see her in more than sleep, afraid, or sad for once made him make self-depreciating jokes to make her laugh. He'd looked down saying, "Not yet I still have a few inches to lose." and patted his stomach. She'd eaten and asked him to open her apple juice, when he took it to do as she asked, she'd told him to drink it. "Mother, your too much, fine." He'd drank her juice and then said he was going to go buy her a bigger one. She tells him to buy him a breakfast first. He walked out and stretched and caught a sniff of himself, he wasn't the freshest daisy this morning. He then saw the doctor watching him. When a priest joined her and closed the hall door and she started speaking Kindred's world bottomed out. When she handed him his father's ring, Kindred's mind screamed "NOPE, no this isn't happening, dad had bruising, no broken bones, and could probably outrun Oliver through a mall during a sale, she was lying, his dad was safe in his secure room." Outwardly he asks, "When?" pause, tears slide down his face unchecked as his voice shook "How?" A coldness wafted through him as the doctor asked did, he need to sit down. He looked down at his father's ring that now lay in his hand. Oh god, this was real. His dad never took off his ring not even when working with the wood. Putting the ring to his nose he could still smell his dad's blend of woodsmoke and his soap he'd made for years. Closing his eyes and opening them again. Taking his shirt and wiping his face. Something else was going on. "Doctor, where is my father's body, and why in the holy fuck do you have his ring?" She spoke of his nurse. "I want to see my father." The doctor says in a while they were in the process of. "NOW." The priest speaks to him asking him if he wanted to pray. Turning his full attention to the man, Kindred bared his teeth and said, "Pray for yourself because if what she said is true, I'll have this place sold and turned into a fucking parking lot." The doctor says something about them still having to inform his wife. Fear of an unknown threat coming from within this hospital for his threat kicked the air out of him, and he put himself in front of his mother's door. "Please don't take her. I didn't meant it. Leave her alone." The doctor says she knows he is upset. Joy and Robert, Bobby could fix this. They got this place to save his mom who was in much worse shape than their dad. "I need to call my sister. My brother will know what to do. Robby has to know what to do." The doctor looks confused and said she'd call Elation Oxendine for him. The last name of the man that Kindred believed hurt his father and his mother shattered any guilt that he was mistreating his sister. Kindred keeps his position in front of the door meets the doctor's gaze and says. "Jackal Oxendine is Elation's only concern. I'm calling Joy Wildflower" and he did.

By the time Joy and Bobby arrived at the hospital Robert was in stone faced protect-mode and Joy was trying her best not to faint again or start crying. This morning they'd received a package from Elation. After the team checked it for explosives, the briefcase was given to them and Bobby still made Joy stand in the bathtub while he put in her birthday and popped the lock. When nothing blew his hand off, or made their penthouse a rocket, he breathed a sigh until he unwrapped the money. Joy walked in and looked just as confused as he was. They had not time to wonder why her sister had sent her a suitcase of money, because her phone rung with Kindred's name. Joy put it on speaker phone at Kindred's request. "What you get a bag of money too?" What Kindred said made Joy drop her phone. Moose Wildflower was dead. Bobby picked up the phone and stood pulling Joy against him as he watched his lover breakdown crying. Kindred was worried that he couldn't go see his father's body because he threatened his father and mother's doctor and feared that they would take her away too. "Kindred listen to me, that is not going to happen," "or it had better not" Bobby thinks to himself he says, "You are going to stay with Life. We are coming." Bobby informed his team they were heading to the hospital. At 7:45 in the morning they said they only had four officers. "Have the ones that will be on shift at 8 meet us there." Joy passed out in the car scaring the shit out of Bobby until he could tap and shout her back awake. He'd spoke to her as he drove them to the hospital. She had a headache and he made sure to be at her back in case she fainted again, or if whoever had targeted her in this area tried to get to her. Right now, Robert didn't give a shit if it was even her sporadic behavior having sister or Kindred trying to throw them off the scent, he'd protect Joy and their child from everyone, with his last breath if need be.

It was getting closer to 9 her messages would go to her siblings. Elation had raged and cried and raged until she had nothing left. Her home, her big beautiful cage, held her escape as well. She set up Danny's phone in the master bath and looked down at her bloody hand that she'd punched through a mirror that showed the stupid trapped bird that is her. Her phone rung and she answered it was Kindred calling she could hear Joy in the background speaking to her mother. Kindred told her about her father. She cut him off. "I loved him Kin." She then hung up.

She couldn't wait any longer for Jackal to order her death. She looked up at the noise of feet coming up the stairs from her seat on the floor where she'd found and taken all the pills in her bathroom with the last of her lemonade. She blinked at Danny as he grabbed her hand. Her voice came slow as she said in a hollow tone. "You hurt her." Danny asks her how much of this shit she took. "You and those men took Joy. I love her." Danny picked up the bottle of her depression meds. Those were nasty even with lemonade. Her new sleepy time med was in liquid capsule like the weed Danny had her drink. She'd broke them all and poured them into the lemonade. He then tossed the empty bottles out of her view as he held her chin in his hand. He asked how many was in there she took. "I told him on you." He swore and hit her in her stomach. It didn't hurt as much she he'd feared it would. Danny asked her what she meant because this was bigger than him. When she regained her breath, she smiled and panted out. "Danny Boy" he leaned in as she pants, "Fuck you." He asked her what she did while hitting her in her head. When he put his hands on her throat and squeezed, telling her that he killed her father for Jackal killing his little sister, pain registered her hand went to his, but she couldn't pull him off, her blood made her grip slippery. He'd exposed Jackal and he admitted to killing her father. Her sister would be safe if Bobby could stop him. She saw the tall grass Joy and she used to play in, she remembers Joy asking her questions back when Joy's eyes weren't so sharp and filled with smiles more than frowns. Before Jackal chased her little sister into the hands of the spawn the world knows as Danny Boy. Her body shook, she didn't know if he'd busted her open or, she is crying, he kept letting up and giving her air. Her mouth moved and he let her have air. She said what they chanted while hurting her sister, so he'd know she knew about them "DCC 4 Life" Danny stuck his thumbs into her throat as he shook her, he said she was not immune, and her world faded to black.

Just when Robert had managed to calm everyone down, round two of the tidal wave of horse shit hit the fan. Joy had got some of her coloring back as they sat in her mother's room. Bobby had spoken to the doctor and she agreed to turn on signal near the window and in the hallway but not close to any of the equipment in the room. Bobby walked out of the dead zone in the hall and got a message from Elation, her words irritated him but the still shot of a Joy as a rookie in a message from her sister boiled his blood. By the time he got himself under some so kind of control Kindred walked out in the hall his phone came to life with a message that made him call Elation. When she hung up on him. Kindred told Bobby that he thinks Elation is going to hurt herself and let Bobby read Elation's messages. Joy came out and said the same thing. Bobby told them both that he would handle it. He called a guard and asked for him to get Joseph on the line. Bobby didn't watch the entire video, or he would have run out of here and hunted Danny.

"The is Joey" Robert Ivey spoke too loud and too much. "Bobby stop, your dad has a phrase I didn't hear that, and you didn't say any of it." Robert was near the edge and Joey didn't want Robert losing his shit in a public place. "You did one thing right you called me I don't work for you. I protect you and the members of the Ivey-Davenport-Sheldon family. Walk into a more secure room and talk to my employer Agent Hawk-Ivey." Joey couldn't do a job for Robert because Robert was a part of a government agency that ranked a lot higher than Mayor. Robert must have got the message because Chase's private phone rang.

Bobby walked into the room that Joy, Kindred, and he spoke in earlier. He called his dad from his phone so if record of this call had to go missing, he could make that happen. Though Bobby kept his composure in place in front of Joy and her mother and brother when they found out that Moose was dead it took Bobby right back to last year when he almost lost his own father. Hearing Chase's voice evened out his own tone. Just in case Chase was in a place where he could be overheard. Robert asked for him to hire Joey to go after someone. Chase asked why and it was good that Joey told him to go in a secure room. Bobby's armor of anger cracked as he spoke about what Danny had done and how he wanted to go and help the guy into the next life, but Joy's sister sounded like she was going to try to kill herself and Danny was last seen with her. Chase told him send as much information as he could including the sister's picture. "Dad out of the 94 people that graduated the academy with Joy that year I counted near 30 that chanted DCC slogans as they hurt Joy. I want to put him down myself, but I can't leave Joy alone up here because her father was killed, it hasn't been officially proven yet but the times and the hitches in monitoring leads me to believe we are working with an insider." Chase had gone quiet at the mention of Danny hurting Joy and possibly trying to hurt her again. "Dad?" Chase said it would be handled. "I'll pay you back anything you have to give him."

Chase was so damned pissed, his learned cultured tone faded, and his New York upbringing as Chase Willie came out in his voice as he told his son. "This one's on me son, Joy was my daughter the second she said yes, she is carrying my grandchild, this ranked piece of beef hurt her and is hurting you, not smart, and he's going to find out just how not smart it is to hurt mine. Now send me the data, I want to see this swine brought to slaughter." Bobby thanks him and his phone populates with messages. Chase opens the recent pictures of Elation Oxendine along with her address and Dan O'Sullivan and showed it Joey. "Give Joy and her family, my condolences. Tell her be well." When Chase hung up, he tells Joey." If you can, save the woman. Those messages were time released, they don't sound like attention seeking messages, that girl sounds like she's leaving. I hate to think it with Joy's father already dead, but Elation could already be gone as well, by her own hand or by Dan's hand. As for Dan the treacherous swine that hurt my daughter and dares make a play to hurt her again, phase two Dan's ass before I have to go sedate Robert, he's in over his head and his natural response could be very deadly. Whatever your men need, just let me know." Joey nods and says he was on it the minute Chase answered that phone. "Thanks, Joey"

When Danny felt Elation go limp and stop jerking in his grasp, he still didn't know what the fuck she'd told and to who. He had to get out of here. He had to cover his tracks for why his prints were on her and all over her house. There was no way she knew about the DCC. Hearing a click he looked up with his hands still firmly on Elation's throat. A federal Agent Identified himself as such and told him to let go of the woman and slowly put his hands in the air. The guy wasn't a part of the DCC Danny could hide behind federal bars. Danny put his hands in the air. When he could get to his feet. He wondered how the guy got up here so quietly. The guy gave a hand a gesture and a full med crew came in and started working on Elation. Danny is cuffed and walked downstairs and put in a black Escalade. The guy gets in starts the car and drives away from the house leaving the med truck there. Danny looked back in time to see them white sheeting Elation's body out the front door.

Private Contract Officer Quang Englewood a mixed race, high-ranking ex federal agent that now worked for Joseph Striker meets Danny's eyes in the mirror and says. "You are to tell me what I want to know. You are a very lucky man right now. I've been called caring compared to my colleagues." Dan says why is that. "If you cooperate the best you can hope for is federal prison time." Dan asked if he could be placed under protection. "If you cooperate maybe." Danny says he wasn't talking for a maybe. Joey's officer kept his outward appearance calm as he thought "Your life sailed out of the window when I was moved from bodyguard into this role." He'd have a full report for Joey this dead man was to be an example. Quang drives towards their interrogation space. He had been thrown out of his position as a federal agent handler because of the DCC's ability to set people up, Joey had him checked out and hired him. He also had just spent the better part of 10 days wondering as he guarded Ivey and Wildflower if the happenings seemed a little too familiar to be coincidence. Hearing that woman confirm his suspicion as he moved into the house sealed Dan's fate. "If you don't help, then my superior will come and personally take out your entire family in front of you leaving nothing but your rotting corpse as a doorstop when the authorities arrive." Dan asked what agency he said he was with. The officer heard the first true tone of fear from Dan and said. "I didn't, you like to drug and abuse women until they either beg for death or you kill them, have a nice trip." With that the officer shot Danny with a dart. Danny folded to the seat like a limp rag. As he has others take Danny into the little house's basement that belonged to his missing sister. Quang sent an encrypted message to update Joey.

Officer Q: Rescue failed. Victim is in route. Target captured while in the act of neutralizing victim.

Striker Services: Set press trip line, interview, and continue with phase 2.

Officer Q: Will go dark until complete

Bobby sat in Life's room with Joy and Kindred. After identifying the body of Elation, Joy had swayed, and Bobby took her and their team out to the covered walking trail so she could get some fresh air. He really didn't like the stress this was putting on his mate. Two family deaths in one day was a lot to have to deal with. Add in the fact that at the very least one was a homicide by Joy's ex and Bobby once again wanted to blow the man's head off his shoulders. He watched as Life leaned on Kindred as he stood by the bed holding his mother. A picture of Elation and one of Dan flashed on the screen. Kindred turned it up. The reporter said police responded to an anonymous call at 9:35 a.m. to the Oxendine residence to discover Elation Oxendine being strangled to death by a former County Firefighter by the name of Dan O 'Sullivan. O'Sullivan was taken into custody, life saving measures were taken, but Oxendine died at the scene. While in transit, the former firefighter escaped. He is to not be approached by the public he is armed and extremely dangerous.

Joy stood up saying she wasn't leaving this floor, but she had to leave this room and walked out of the room. Kindred went to follow, Bobby patted his shoulder and pointed back to Life who had begun crying again. "You stay here with Life and I'll go check on Joy." Bobby had to believe that was Joey's team releasing narrative to feed to the news so when Danny showed up dead it could go in the dark files. If not and somehow the real police found Danny and he was let free Bobby would hunt the fucker and his DCC friends down himself. Bobby's agency had done a few government quiet depopulation jobs. When he walked out pass the private hall Joy sat staring at her phone. Bobby walked over and sat down and took her phone that had Elation's messages on the screen that just now dimmed into darkness. "Talk to me."

Joy looked at Robert and said, "Though my training says Elation didn't send me almost 2 million dollars in cash in a fancy briefcase, tell me all of that and apologize like that, if she wasn't planning to kill herself. Her big beautiful cage, comment about their home in the second message was what had me asking you to send one of the guards to go check on her. The little sister in me, wanted so badly to believe that Elation was preparing to run. Danny once again placed himself in as savior, I saw it in her eyes and in the way, she called him Danny Boy. I couldn't get through to her. Danny made her believe that he was on her side. Elation was so used to being dependent on Jackal because he made her that way. With Jackal not able to tell her how to feel, or get her drugged enough to keep the memories at bey Danny would have had no problem with stepping in. In the first message she claimed to just find all this evidence of Jackal's behavior all the while keeping Danny out of it." Bobby says he doubted that Elation would have just stumbled on all that just by being at home for a day alone. Joy's voice shook as she said, "The last thing I told her was she and Danny deserved each other. I took it back, but the damage was done."

Kindred had come looking for them and heard his baby sister's pain. Bobby told her not to blame herself. Before Joy could say anything else, Kindred made himself known. He hadn't been hiding, their mother had went to sleep and he had come out to call Oliver. "Joy, dad said it a lot when we were growing up, just because someone stops breathing do not mean their spirit is suddenly pure." Joy says Elation apologized and had he read all that Jackal had done. "Don't miss my meaning sister, Jackal shares this blame too. Elation apologized, but somethings words can't cure. To apologize, means that if you could do it all again armed with the mistakes you made, you wouldn't. I hurt for mom who must bury her oldest child, while she is burying dad, a man she has loved for over four decades. I believe Elation meant everything she said in those letters. Joy, Elation ruined my first marriage, for fun, because she could, she admitted to it while apologizing. Telling me sorry brother mine, didn't undue her setting up my wife with a rich rancher. Not that I want her anymore finally. Elation telling me sorry, won't get my children back. If it wasn't for my mate, I don't think I would have been here to be a part of her games. The fact that I was on auto pilot most of the time was how she got me to believe so much shit about you and about Bobby. Without you both setting me straight yesterday, sorry may have come too late in a lot of ways. Her wanting to be the best of us, drove her to insane heights to hurt both of us. So, please don't paint her as a saint and rip yourself up just because she apologized and then got herself killed. She claims Jackal lit the house on fire, but Danny is the one that would have been able to set it ablaze and keep it controlled enough to not take out the houses around it. Dad had lots of wood and chemicals in his workshop. Your old room and the den got most of the damage, according to the report. My old room had the kids toys that Marie wouldn't let me send with them. That huge standalone playhouse you helped me put together when the twins were two could have taken much longer to extinguish." Kindred shook his head. "I don't have proof, but Danny is a firefighter that just got himself in a world of trouble for doing a controlled burn on a property I was going to sale."

Joy looks at Robert then back at her brother with confusion in her tone as she says "A home owned by a real-estate company would not be on a list like that. In Grandville South the controlled burn site is a property that is up for removal from the city or county."

Kindred says "That's true, my home was remodeled, and the deed was in my company's name. When you left the room, mom changed the channel and since this was prime time news hour, a cop got killed during the fire from a flare up. The county tried to say that Conner Construction buried the body they found in the foundation Logan the owner of the company along with myself provided statements and blueprints that proved that where they found her wasn't the foundation. Someone tossed a female in the retractable jacuzzi. I knew about the true dimensions of the jacuzzi because it was what really sold the house. What the killer neglected to think about, is that Mr. Conner says in this area the moving floor had to have metal support imbedded in the wooden floor to prevent a cave in. Logan used titanium with some rust proofing added. The fire evaporated most of the water but didn't burn away the woman.

That night Havana was picked up by a very quiet Pierce, "Where are the children?" He says the nanny has them, and he was taking her to dinner so they could talk. "About?" her tone came out defensive and his dark blue eyes met hers as he asked what was wrong. "I have just had one heck of a day. First…"

Pierce slightly shook his head and cuts her off saying, "I am interested in your workday, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I am more concerned with how long you have been shaking like this morning." He pulls into their favorite steak house's parking lot, parks and she remained quiet. He continues, "I understand this morning you were very upset. You losing your balance on a flat surface that isn't unfamiliar to you worries me? I am not a doctor, but I am very aware of how my wife moves. By the time you rode away this morning I was very aware something was off. I watched you and you almost fell walking the 10 feet from the door to the drive. At first, I equated it to maybe you were crying but when you turned and looked at me through that window, that dashed my assumption." He puts up a finger and gives the hostess their surname for the reservation he'd called in this morning. Havana asked how he knew she'd want to come here tonight. Pierce smirked and said "I have never seen you turn down steak, even when you caught that horrible cold on the ship on our honeymoon. I arranged a little time, before we are due back at the house, and you needed some red meat adult time after your ordeal this morning." They are seated and continue their earlier conversation. She spoke of dealing with smaller tremors since right after the birth of their third child, she then said that she didn't have time to have her mother's disability. "So, you have been evaluated and have said nothing to me for nearly three years?"

The hurt in his voice spurred her into speech, "No, I haven't been evaluated, what if I have it? I can't risk that going into my file. Luke would have me removed as location head." Pierce says what happens when she loses more control and hurts a patient. He says she was speaking as if she had a diagnosis already. Havana thinks about the micro equipment they used on Life Buckmaster-Wildflower, one wrong movement of her hand and she could have turned that woman into a vegetable. Her hand started to shake, and she puts her hands in her lap. Pierce says they were due to go spend time in Texas for the gender reveal and if she didn't say something to Luke before he noticed she could cost herself her position for withholding something this serious. "With everything that has been going on I almost forgot we are going. You are right, if I walk into that house and am not tremor free, Luke will notice. Even if he doesn't our brother will. I must do this quietly I will get tested but not here, my staff is very nosey. Oh god, if this is my mother's disability, they won't be my staff, now will they?"

Pierce put out his hand on the table. Havana puts hers in his. "Love, before you start, writing your retirement speech get tested. When you are ready just tell me the when and where and as always, I'll be there. For someone that has such faith and confidence in her profession I am quite surprised that you would go this long without getting checked out. The time for hiding is over. I guess it runs in the family. Great doctors are in fact at least in this family, the worst patients." They finish their meal and head home.

The following morning Mark heads to a meeting and is surprised to see his talent liaison there. Stacy Bloke and he had an understanding she books his rooms, kept him on schedule, and stayed out of his way. Sitting down across from her he says, "I don't think I'll need you to take notes if that is why you are here."

Stacy wondered once more when Mark was going to get over what wasn't her fault. She willingly drank with the divas; she did not willingly get drugged. Him getting drugged wasn't her fault her ending up in a suggestive picture with him wasn't her fault but she didn't have a time machine and could not go back and tell him his coworkers were plotting against him, nor could she stay in her room that night. "To answer your un-question, my presence was requested by Hunter." Hunter came in and greeted them both. Mark grunted and slides his sunglasses into place, with his arms crossed. Hunter offered her more money. "I'm going to assume more work comes with a number that large." Hunter said she was right, but it wouldn't be any harder than keeping Mark on time which she'd done a great job of. He was buttering her up. Mark opened his mouth but then closed it. He could accuse her of all sorts of things but being bad at her job was not one of them. If in her past she could get rock band leaders to look awake enough for interviews at ten in the morning, she could get Mark on screen or to his other commitments on time. Hunter handed her a contract. "I'm sorry Hunter I'm not a wrestler and it would be foolish of me to sign this." They wanted her to escort Mark out to the ring and be a part of a few storylines. That was a slippery slope into something she wanted nothing to do with. "I don't have, nor do I want the look. I keep Markus on time and aware of changes in schedule, behind the camera." Mark agreed and asked HHH why he would ask her to agree to TV time she doesn't want when there were countless girls on the roster clawing for a chance at the spotlight that he could push. HHH spoke of the bedroom scandal and said it would be a great angle to lead into this year's storyline. Mark got heated and Stacy for once in a long time was just as angry. "The legal papers aren't even cold yet and you want to make a mockery of what two or more of his coworkers did to him and myself?" HHH says life imitates art.

Shane knocks on the door as Mark was telling HHH what he could do with his half assed Idea. "Hey guys, what is wrong you don't seem as happy as Hunter promised you'd be in exploiting something that nearly got you killed and her fired." Before Mark could turn his vicious attention on to Shane he says, "Hunter you are needed on set for you run though with Dave." Hunter glares at him and tells them all that this wasn't the last time they would hear from him. Shane says "It kind of is. We agreed no pressure, if she didn't want to do it." Turning to Stacy, Shane says in a loud stage whisper, "You don't want to do it, correct?" She barks out a firm loud "No." Mark was watching him. "Oh, Mark I wanted to tell you we will be filming at your school for the show, Mick has been sent times. Well that's all I have you two are dismissed unless you have something for me." Mark put up a hand and says he needed a word in private. Stacy looked at Mark for a second and then got up and left the office. Mark speaks of Hunter changing the script and causing Rapture Sloan's injury. "The change was posted before the match during rehearsal. Mark stuff happens." Mark says it was not relayed to Rapture at rehearsal and that is why he almost got his face rebroke. "I get it he is your student or was." Shane sighed and pulled his tablet and pulled up the script sheet and changes. Reading silently, he gets to the end of the script and saw no changes. "Why would Seth blow him up that hard? Rapture was supposed to deflect and rush the ring. I get Seth not making it easy but a knee to the face was not in practice or the run through. I'll get back to you. The last thing we need is a new talent with a pretty good draw getting benched for injury. How is Rapture?" Mark asks was he asking as a boss or a friend. "Ok, that good, don't tell me?" Mark speaks about Hunter fining Seth and how Seth couldn't pull off the lie. "I'll get to the bottom of this."

Over at the hospital, Life wakes to the sight of her youngest leaving the room to the restroom, Robert sat watching his phone screen. Kindred lay curled in on himself snoring in the windowsill. Her dream was so real she had a conversation with Moose. Waking and having to be without him hurt. Her oldest was gone, a fact that was hard as well, no parent should have to bury their child. She had never in her years uttered words of hate, but she did hate Jackal, he placed their entire family in danger. She hated Danny for taking her daughter's life. Looking at the young man that was going to be yet another son in law, she spoke softly. "Robert, I want to believe with all of me, that you are the right man for my Joy. It is no great secret that Joy trusts you, or that she also loves you. I do hope you are what you seem. My husband welcomed you into the family, it may not mean a lot to you, but Moose was prepared to walk his baby down the aisle. I once thought Jackal was a bit immature and controlling, but that he loved my Elation. I was wrong. Elation chose to end her education and we pushed her into his hands even further. Joy warned us all, and I wrote it off as teenage angst. It took Jackal nearly killing me for me to see pass his dance of lies and crooked smile." Life looks over at her Kindred, "Moose and I adored Kindred's first wife Marie, she agreed to the wedding we missed out on with Elation and Jackal, she called me mom and Moose dad. She brought the children over to spend the night, and years later she divorced him, had her lawyers paint Kindred in such a negative light, that the court took away his parental rights and left him near penniless. If he hadn't of sold that batch of houses at the end of last year his company would have let him go instead of making him junior partner. His humor got darker, and that worried me. That well-off brat didn't love my boy she shopped his life, picking and choosing what she'd take later like a bargain bin until she was through with him. I do hope you'll understand my request. Joy has been through things she won't even speak to me about; I beg you Robert please don't hurt my child."

This was the longest Life had ever addressed him. She was afraid to trust her own feelings about him. Bobby looked up and says, "Hurting Joy would be hurting apart of myself and I'm not into self-harm. I get that you don't know me, but I'm not here to hurt her or control her I love your daughter. She wanted you guys to meet me, and here I am. She's my better half." Life's eyes rest on his as she tells him then he should protect her, because there are lots of moving dangers especially with her Elation's killer on the loose. She stopped speaking when Joy walked back out of the restroom. Bobby had suspicions about Danny, but this was as solo as he got, he had no official back up, no feedback from the feelers he'd put out. None of the cases that swarmed like bees around his mate he knew enough intel to end right now. He'd do what he always did, he would try to shield them all from harm. Making a standing on the mountain promise would just hurt more if he failed. "I'll do what I can to protect us all but making promises on such an uneven battlefield when I don't even know all the enemies is unwise and could turn my words into lies."

Joy comes out of the restroom she'd heard her mother speaking and as soon as she finished Joy opens the door. Bobby sat trying his best to look nonthreatening as he spoke. "I know there have been a lot said by Elation, Kindred, and even Jackal slandering my mate. Robert isn't going to bring harm to me, I'm not saying this because I'm under some manipulation or blindly loving someone who doesn't love me back. We worked hard to get where we are. Not only will he not hurt me, I try my best not to hurt him. It doesn't matter who it is, neither of us would stand idle while the other one is in trouble. Danny is out there somewhere, and that fact scares me but not because I think that Robert would do like Jackal and befriend him." Bobby mumbles only if befriending him meant putting a bullet in between Danny's eyes. Turning to her mate he speaks before she can say anything. Bobby tells her if Danny came close to her again all bets were off. Joy thinks if Danny got too close to her remaining loved ones, she may shoot him herself. After curling back onto the couch with Bobby holding her, Joy drifts off to sleep after her mom went to sleep.

Authors Note: As the truth unfolds more and more of the battlefield shifts. Please read and review. I want to thank my main betas for the help they provide. Here is a chapter to pass the holiday break with. :End Note


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